


You Can't Escape My Love

by Kawaii_Chibi_InuDemon



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Miscommunication, Pregnancy, Relationship Issues, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:28:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 65,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27753094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kawaii_Chibi_InuDemon/pseuds/Kawaii_Chibi_InuDemon
Summary: Danny has been dating Paulina since the desastroid that revealed his identity, thus becoming part of the popular crowd. While he finds himself forgetting who his friends are Tucker decides to leave the group with Star at his side and Sam has finally decided that with all that is going on in the small town of Amity that she is done. The problem is that when Paulina broke it off with Danny the halfa finds himself having an intimate moment with Sam only to mis-speak after the act. Though Sam wasn't planning on staying away at her new place of residence and summer job, she takes the final step to leave it all behind. Will the Goth find herself able to stay away or will their past pull her back to his side? Will Danny be able to let her go or will he go after the one friend, the one that he knows he truly loves, and bring her back?
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

It was just past the day of Sam's eighteenth birthday, the Gothic female laying in her bed as the sun tried to enter thru the dark curtains that shielded her from the morning sun. She had always thought herself like a vampire. The sun bothered her. Her strange coloring. All of it played into that stereotype. Vampires were lone creatures and that's what the raven haired female felt now. It had been a rather busy week for her friends, what with Danny getting back to his girlfriend, Paulina, and Tucker asking her for help with setting up the perfect date for asking Star, his long-term girlfriend, to marry him. Pulling the sheets tighter around her she reflected on the fact that during this week she had been lonely, but not the week before that. That week had been something else, something magical and like magic, it was an illusion.

It had started just weeks before that when Paulina had broken up with Danny, the pair having dated for close to two years after it had come out that her best friend was the Phantom that had saved their town whenever evil had attacked. The Latina girl had been shocked to say the least, that the boy she had used in the past or even mocked and tormented, was the ghost boy that she had claimed to have a crush on. It had been so quick, the immediate change in the popular girl as she clung to Danny as if her life depended on it. After she had proclaimed her as her boyfriend the Goth and techno-geek had been left on the back burner.

While Danny had been shocked to find himself attached to the Queen of Casper High, he had not just up and left them, no, that had come later. It had only taken the halfa all of two weeks in the popular circle for him to change. He still fought to protect their town, that hadn't changed, but now he treated them like sidekicks, leaving them to clean up his mess as soon as he beat down the ghost haunting the town. Tucker had tired of it first, the dark skinned male leaving the group within the first month of this treatment. Sam had been adamant that the ghostly male would come around as he had in the past, but Tucker hadn't listened, sure that this time their friend was gone. He was popular, as he had always wanted to be and now that he had that, and the girl he had always wanted, their friend no longer existed.

In fact he had told Sam to let the raven haired ghost fighter go. He was no longer a choice for a life partner. He had known of her crush, the crush that had grown into something deeper. He knew of the love that she felt for their friend and while he wasn't all that great with people he hadn't wanted her to be hurt by the halfa's choice and actions. Tucker was sure that Danny would eventually hurt her and true to his thoughts the act had happened. When the pair had broken up, Sam still sticking to his side even when she was the only one to help him defeat the ghosts that continually came out of the Ghost Zone. Maybe it had been a rebound, the halfa confusing his affections and pain over losing the Ice Queen, but the raven haired male had made a move... a move that would change her life while he had just gone back to the one that had only caused her misery and the halfa ridicule.

*Flashback*

Sam was leaning forward slightly, her long hair fell forward like a wave, the dark locks brushing against Danny's long raven locks. He shot her a look as she took out another zombie on the screen. "Better get to planting, Danny," the Goth said, her lavender lips twisting in a smile. "Would hate for a zombie to get into your home and eat your brains!" The halfa turned back to the screen and even as he did just that, planting another shooter before his home and another walnut to stop a zombie in football gear from running past all his defenses, the blue eyed male couldn't seem to concentrate. His mind was on the woman behind him, her leg pushing against him as she slammed a few buttons on her controller. His skin tingled at the feel of her body against his. He didn't want to feel this way, not that he was upset with those feelings, but for his friend? No, that wasn't a good idea. She had stuck by him, thru walking into the portal to aiding him in fighting ghosts for several years. She had been his best friend, even when Tucker had joined the group, she had still been supportive of him and ready to give him a piece of her mind when he did something he shouldn't. They had had their tests of friendship when she had wanted him to do something unethical, apologizing afterward.

They had gone thru far more than most friends, their bond strong. She had been the one to stop Freakshow when even Tucker had been unable to bring him back. Her voice, her being in danger, all of it had drawn him back to life and when the tables had turned on them, that same bond had helped to free her from Undergrowth's mind control. They were closer than most friends, even best friends, and he didn't want to lose that closeness with her. He had to admit that he had fallen for his friend and while he was unaware of her own feelings he knew that he couldn't cross that line. His first clue to his feelings had been when he had been under Ember's control, the sudden feelings for Sam. He had had a crush on his friend after that had ended, a crush that must have been under the surface because when the Goth had spurned his love by kissing the blond jock that had tormented him he had felt sadness... Hurt by her affection toward the football player before anger and pain had become his friend. He had felt such pain that for a minute had had been sure he had really died. It had been so different to the actual pain of dying, the shock to the heart more painful.

He had seen her own actions, but had been unsure at the time if she had just been weirded out or maybe under control of Ember. She had seemed to like the attention, looking at him with a unfamiliar look in her amethyst orbs, but she had quickly hidden it, another emotion replacing it. Then again the raven haired teen had been strong, stronger than him. She must have been fighting it the whole time. She had been upset by having to kiss the jock, telling Danny several times that he owed her. While she had been upset he could see there was something else she was feeling, but he had no idea what it was, the emotion fleeting as it entered and disappeared from her eyes. As his character died on scream, the sounds of a zombie eating brains filling his ears while Sam continued on, her body jerking slightly as she really got into the game. Normally he would have reacted like that too, never even thinking as he pushed the buttons to protect his house. As her last wave announced itself with grunts and growls, Danny looked away, his blue eyes on the woman before him. Sam would be turning eighteen in just another week, her promise of when that happened she would be out from under her parents.

He had no idea what she had planned after that, the Goth never saying what she would do once she was free of her overbearing guardians. There had been a few times in the past that she had hinted at leaving Amity all together, but as she had spoken of it for a while now he wondered if she was going to stay here. She threw up her hands as the last zombie on her screen died, and Danny watched the light of victory brighten her eyes and something in him snapped. He reached up and pulling her down on him kissed the surprised Goth, her hair falling around them like a curtain. She had tensed at first, her body going stiff on top of him, but she soon softened, her lips moving on his as he crushed her to him. It was like their fake-out-make-outs, the spark that skittered across his skin, the shock of kissing his best friend, but it was different too. He could feel the heat, the beating of his heart quickening and becoming stronger, as it pooled low in his belly.

It all felt right to her, the feel of him under her, the heat of his body mixed with a soft wave of cool air. She had yearned for this feeling, this completeness, but then like a bucket of cold water she realized that she was kissing her best friend, the same friend that had just broken it off with his long term girlfriend. "Danny," she whimpered, pulling back from him as the sting of tears alerted her to the fact that she was about to cry. She wouldn't cry, no, she wouldn't let him know how this effected her, but he pulled her back to him, his lips settling against her neck. The heat of his breath caused her skin to tingle as goosebumps covered her skin.

"I know that this is wrong, but it feels right," he murmured. "I don't know why, Sam, but kissing you feels so damn right, like coming home." She froze at these words, the feeling like the one she felt with every touch of his lips. "I want you so bad and yet, I know that I shouldn't." More kisses along her neck, her body warming at his words while her brain tried to tell her that this was wrong. Not because of him and her laying like this, being so intimate, but because he was speaking of regret, the tone of his voice almost torn. His hands moved over her body, down her shoulders, moving to brush against her breast, the orbs feeling heavy at that light touch.

"Danny," she moaned, her body arching against his. "Stop speaking." He stopped talking, his body already hard from her body landing on his, grew harder at the way she spoke his name. He complied with her whispered plea, their clothing fall around him so that they could be skin to skin, her body flushing at the contact, but she found that she couldn't move away from him, the feeling of their heat mixing making her sigh in pleasure. She knew that she couldn't and wouldn't stop him from giving her what she yearned for, had dreamed of getting from the male under her. Moments later she found herself under him, his mouth moving down her naked body, the moisture cooling behind the heat of his mouth. He moved to kiss her breasts, both globes receiving his attentions while his right hand moved to grasp her right breast, another moan escaping her lips. He could feel the heat coming off of her, his body longing to join hers, to encase himself in her heat, but he resisted. He wanted to hear her scream out the pleasure he gave her, the need to hear her gasp his name again and again a cry from his heart.

"Say my name," he husked, his fingers ghosting over her dark curls. She whimpered, her body arching upward as the heat in her belly grew hotter.

"D-Danny," she moaned, her hands entwining themselves in his long dark hair. "Oh, god, Danny," she whimpered as he stroked her, a light touch that grew firmer with every brush over her lower body. "Please stop teasing me." Groaning at her urgings he positioned himself and surged into her...

*End of Flashback*

That had been her first and only mistake with the halfa. He had been shocked when he had realized what he had done, his blue eyes widening as he looked down at her. He had sputtered out that he had made a mistake and that he was sorry. She had been glowing for a moment, but as he said those words, those words that spoke such volumes she had paled. She had felt her blood run cold, her body stiffening beside him. Before he could react, she had punched him in the face, the shocked look on his face only fanning her anger at that moment, the embarrassment of it. Was it because that while she was a virgin there was no barrier? She had lost it to him all those years ago during a particularly hard fight against Plasmius. She had fallen strangely because the pain in her body had been different than a normal hit to her small person. She had realized hours later that she had broken her hymen. She was going to say something about that, but her pride had demanded satisfaction for the blow he had done against it.

She had told her friend to leave, to never darken her doorway again. Now she found she was upset with herself, still grieving over the loss of a friend and bitter at herself for thinking that making a move on a best friend was the best idea. She had made a mistake, his move startling her and hitting a place deep in her heart that had cried for his attention. She had tried to run from these feelings, to find another love, but there had only been Gregory or had his name been Elliot. Shaking her head she found that she didn't care enough to remember which had been his real name. She had known at that moment that she was in love with her friend. Her friend didn't feel that way about her, his being with Paulina proved that as for the other one he had dated. Valerie.

She wasn't his type and so that left her alone. Sighing she looked down at the papers in her hands. It wouldn't matter soon enough. She would be going away for the summer, well, that was what she had told her friends. Tucker had been surprised at her sudden choice to go out on her own. She usually spent the summer with Danny and him, but with him not hanging around the halfa anymore, he had still thought that the Goth would go with Danny. In reality she had found a place to live, a job in a gallery so that she could someday run her own little place. She smiled at that. She had wanted to do that here, but no, not now. She couldn't be around all the memories of her once happy life with her only two friends. She couldn't be around the memories of Danny, the ones that now tainted her room with sadness at such a moment she had wished for for about three years. She would be far away from this place by this time tomorrow. Maybe one day she would come back and when she did she would come back she would have moved one. There was one friend she could count on, though at one point he had been the enemy.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning found Danny out early, the early morning routine of checking for ghosts bringing the boy out just before six. He had started it when he had turned sixteen. After a couple of years hunting ghosts he had figured that he should check every morning before school since as the months had gone by the ghosts that haunted his town had taken up coming out earlier and earlier. As he flew close to Sam's house he noticed a dark haired male standing over the open trunk of the Goth's black smart car. The male was dressed in a leather jacket, his dark jeans blending in with the black jacket. His green eyes narrowed in suspicion at this strange guy hanging outside of the raven haired woman's house and why he was standing over her car like that, but before he got close enough he heard the sound of a door. Turning he saw Sam step out, her long hair braided back. the raven locks matching her black tank top, the jeans she wore tinted a deep green while she still wore her combat boots. Her long hair hit her back as she walked down the stairs toward the male. The halfa pushed himself to go faster, thinking that she was in danger, only to brake midair as the small woman embraced the tall male.

His mouth fell open as Sam thanked him for helping her, the dark haired male shutting the trunk with a smile... or was that a smirk? Danny didn't like this and resuming his flight toward them landed before them moments later. Sam turned to him, a surprised look on her face before she smiled. If the halfa had been paying attention he would have seen that the smile that could once power a whole town was no longer as bright. She looked tense, but when his gaze landed on her she managed to keep her cheery demeanor. "Hi, Danny, what'cha doing h-out so early?" He raised brow at her question. She knew he patrolled early!

"Doing what I have been doing for years now, Sam, you know that," he said, his gaze returning to the male before him. He looked familiar, his ice blue eyes flashing at the younger male. This guy was at least twenty-five or maybe a few years older, but the halfa still felt that he had seen this guy before. He looked behind them at her packed trunk. "Where are you going?" She frowned slightly.

"I told you I was going away. I have a chance to learn my trade." She was going for the job with the gallery, but another piece of that was having the time to work on her other passion. She would be making a CD to get her music out, not that anyone would know it was her since she was doing it under her middle name, Alexandra. She would be able to enjoy both roles, and with the male at her side coming too she wouldn't feel so lost as she had since the moment that Danny had become a popular kid. Danny seemed to recall a trip out of state, a job for the summer, but her trunk seemed too full for just a few months away and as much as he wanted to ask more he could see that she was in a hurry.

Sam wasn't really in hurry as she had another few days until she had to start her new job, but she was nervous about the halfa before her figuring out the real reason she had taken the job. It was a good chance that she knew would only come once, but she had decided to give the halfa, and honestly herself, more time to enjoy their new roles in life. "I'll see you when I get back," she said, forcing a smile to her lips, the man at her side reaching out to touch her shoulder. Smiling more broadly she hugged her friend before heading toward the driver seat, with the raven haired male heading for the passenger seat. Once they were buckled up, Sam threw one final wave out the window before she headed off. Danny just stood there, his face frozen in confusion, the pain of his friend leaving him to do her own thing clenching his heart tightly.

'She'll be back in a few months,' he thought to himself, unsure as to why he felt pain with her absence. He had his girlfriend to keep him company, and with his popular status he was sure there would be plenty of parties to attend this summer like there had been the summer before, though he had been surprised that Sam, while still hanging around him, had not wanted to attend those parties, claiming that she was not a big people person and he had known that, but had thought that she would come with him anyway. No, the Goth had gone and hung with Tucker, the pair playing video games or just relaxing at her home with a movie. He had felt left out of the group and then Star had joined them upon finding that she and Tucker had so much in common. He had tried to join them on a few of their nights of hanging out, but Paulina had whined about him leaving her without a date and while he had tried to include her in with his friends, it hadn't worked out. She had been bored and his friends hadn't been engaging with her, choosing to talk to her very little if at all.

Turning from the way that Sam had gone, the halfa headed home to help his parents with a new invention. He had been planning on taking over Fenton Works for his parents got too old to fight ghosts, though if you asked them that would never happen. Smiling at the thought of his parents in their 80's still fighting ghosts he forgot about his friend's strange behavior.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sam stared straight ahead, the car running smoothly as the male next to her lay back with his eyes closed. They had been on the road for a few hours now, her body aching to turn back to her home, the fear of actually leaving Amity behind creeping into her mind. He seemed to realize her thoughts, as he had always been able to read her when they had been younger, one eye opening as he spoke. "Why didn't you just tell him?" She shot him a look, her mouth opening to speak. "I know your reason for keeping it, but I still feel that it's going to bite you in the end."

"Dan, he's going to be just fine, even after he realizes that I'm not back at the end of the summer," she said with a sigh. "Hell, that's if he notices it." She knew that she sounded bitter, but the halfa at her side knew why and he found it rather weird for his younger self to be acting in such a way. He didn't know much about this time, his own time having ended when he had been captured by the halfa. Truthfully though, his time had ended the moment that his family, Tucker, and Sam had died... He had stopped growing in some ways, never making it past that moment that he had lost his loved ones, one more devastating than the others. While his body had become more muscular, his form growing, his heart had stopped. He had thought it long dead, but once he had been released last year, Clockwork feeling that he was no threat, he had just stood before the mirror in the tower watching as life went on for his friends and his younger self. His heart had broken over seeing how torn up Sam was about how the younger halfa had been acting, Tucker having long since abandoned them with the harsh treatment.

He had felt anger at the way Danny had begun to act, though at one time he had also yearned to be part of that crowd. What the younger male didn't know and what Sam had yet to find out herself, was that the older halfa had been snooping in their past. He had seen what Danny hadn't seen when it came to his current girlfriend and the Goth at his side. Then the Goth had confessed to him the grave error she had made, sleeping with her best friend and while she hadn't given him all the details he knew that his younger self had messed up and now the raven haired woman was broken, her soul and heart shattered at his words.

"He's an idiot," he spat, opening his other eye. "You only reacted to his attentions because you thought that he really would never hurt you, not that we haven't done that in the past."

"I did the same thing," she muttered, feeling rather upset with Dan for bashing the younger male, but knowing that he was right in some aspects. She would never admit that to anyone. She had made a mistake by going with her heart's desire, he had been hurtful, his words so harsh even now after so much time had passed. Would it always hurt like this? She was sure that it would since the pain of watching him date Paulina and even Valerie had nearly crushed her, but that had been bearable... This was not. "I can't even name how many times I fucked up." He chuckled, her eyes flickering over to him.

"At least you didn't do it as openly as Tucker did," Dan stated, the realization that he was correct making her smile. He was just trying to make her feel better about the whole thing. "If he had just learned to keep his mouth shut, hell, if he had thought about anything other than himself at times we wouldn't have had that many problems. You wouldn't have been put in danger so many times either, though I can't say that I didn't put you guys in danger with my actions either."

"We were teenagers and while I know that doesn't make it right, we were all still learning, though there are times that I find myself wishing that I hadn't put you in that position to start with," she said, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "If I hadn't done that then what happened to you in your time would have never come to pass." He reached over to grasp her hand near him.

"Sam, I wouldn't change what happened that day," he said. "I don't blame anyone for what happened in that portal." She shook her head, her throat closing as her body began to shake. Pulling off to the side of the road she turned to him.

"Dan, if I hadn't said anything, encouraged you to go into that portal, would you have?" He blinked at that question. He didn't have an answer to her question since he didn't know what he would have done had it just been him home that day. Would he have gone in to investigate? "See, you don't know, but I don't think you would have gone in. You weren't a coward or anything, but you were wise enough to leave that machine alone." He glowered at her words. Not that he was upset about the fact that it might be true that he would never have stepped in the portal, but that she was blaming herself. His parents' inventions never worked right, well, not all of them and so when they had seen the inactive portal, his parents being disappointed in the fact that it wasn't working, they hadn't thought it all that dangerous. Dan had been hesitant that day, unsure what to expect with walking into it, but he really was happy with all that he was able to do with the powers given to him.

"You know what, that's not the right question," he said, pulling her into his arms, embracing her tightly. She wanted to pull back, to ask him what he meant but that, but she didn't have to ask as he continued his thought process. "What would have happened to Amity if I hadn't gone into that portal?" Now she was surprised. He pulled back a bit, his hands at her waist. "Vlad was already a halfa and he was bent on destroying my father just to get to my mother, hell, he was bent on dominating the world. We would have been sitting ducks had I not walked into that portal." He could see her mind working, the emotions flickering in the amethyst depths. She knew he was right. "It was Fate for me to step in there, to be the one that could fight against the evil that would have come knocking on our door sooner or later. He had a ghost portal of his own. Even if my parents' one hadn't ever worked the ghosts could have come thru his just as easily."

She had to concede. He had a point about the other halfa. Vlad was evil, intent on doing all he could to give him more power and more money. He would have cloned himself at one point, and that would have been far worse than Danny's clones. They weren't evil because he wasn't evil. Dani was a prime example to that. Sighing, she leaned against his chest, the chill of his body coming thru the thin tank top. "Okay, so you have me there," she muttered into his chest before pulling back to start the car up again. Dan smirked, leaning back too, his head falling back on the headrest as he closed his eyes.

"And don't you dare drive all night without a break, woman," he said, one eye opening back up to look at her. She chuckled, knowing that he would restrain her just to give her a break on the long drive. "I mean it."

"Okay, okay, Dan, I believe you." He closed his eye as she pulled back onto the road.


	2. Chapter 2

The Goth found it easy to fall into the role of owning a gallery, her mentor a rather nice woman in her late thirties with short brown hair cut into a pixie hairstyle, save for her bangs which fell over one of her bright grey blue eyes. The place that she owned wasn't large, but big enough to display all the art done by her mentor, Marie Finch. Marie was in her second trimester and had hoped to have Sam take over for her while she went on maternity leave in the months coming, but the Goth would need to learn the ropes of the business. The raven haired woman followed behind the older woman, her first week spent learning how to take the payments on the art that decorated the walls, but this week spent learning all of Marie's clientele. They were nice people, though some could come off snooty, and Sam found that though she hated talking to people in general that these people didn't talk too much. They just came into the gallery to look at the art, ask a few questions, and purchase the item or items they wanted.

While her mentor would be on her maternity leave she would still be creating and with the hours for the space being from ten in the morning to about five in the evening Sam would have time to work on her other reason for leaving Amity. The gallery was only open on the weekend, Friday to Sunday, so for the rest of the week the Goth would use her free time to set up her booth time. It was all going so well for the raven haired heiress and Dan was making it even easier as Marie allowed the older male to hang out with Sam at the gallery. That's where they were at that moment, the afternoon crowd talking quietly as they made their rounds to each painting in turn.

"I never even knew you could paint," the raven haired male stated, pulling at his collared shirt as he looked down at the woman beside him. She smiled, her lavender lips twisting at the knowledge that her friend had seen her artwork, but had never known it was hers. She had started painting more of him and Danny as well as the ghost fights after he had become the Phantom, but before that she had painted nighttime skylines as well as other things.

"You've actually seen my art," she said with a chuckle. The pair were dressed up, not overly so, but Dan wore a white button up shirt with black jeans while Sam wore a short black dress that fell just above her knees with her combat boots. Marie wasn't about being flashy, but did require nice clothing when her gallery was open and Sam didn't mind adhering to it as it wasn't strict clothing like what her own parents would want her to wear. The halfa's eyes narrowed as he thought back to when he could have seen her paintings and when nothing came to mind he waited for her to elaborate. "The ones in my room," was all she said as one of the clients waved her over to their side. Dan thought about that and remembered seeing the dark images on her walls of the night sky, a meteor falling in one of them and then one that held a woman with black wings sitting on the ground surrounded by white and black flames that seemed to blend in with her body.

'I never even thought to ask about those,' he thought to himself as he walked over to join Sam as she and the male spoke. He had liked the art in her room as it complimented her own tastes, but while he had told her they were cool he didn't recall what she had said about them. He stood there as the man inquired about the price on the painting before him. The halfa tilted his head to the side at the rather exposed form of a woman, her body dropping forwards and her blond hair hanging over her face. She was naked, her skin a pale peach, save for almost white wings that covered parts of her body while her lower region was hidden by the way she was sitting. Around her was blood, some of it even on her own body, but without seeing her face you couldn't tell what she was feeling. It was an interesting piece of art, though rather dark.

"This is so like Marie," the male before them stated, his hand coming out to touch the woman in the painting. "But with a darkness that is goes even more deep than her usual work." Sam smiled.

"That is because it isn't Marie's," the Goth stated to the shock of both men. "It's a new artist, Alexandra." The man smiled at the name of the unknown artist and after filling out a check handed it off to her while some men came to load the large painting into his truck, but not before he handed her a card with his name and information.

"Let me know when Alexandra puts out some new work," he said before heading off. Sam smirked at the check, proud of her work in selling one of the few pieces in the gallery that were her own. Dan raised a brow at the name.

"Isn't that your middle name?" he inquired. She nodded as she turned to head for the cash drawer. She hadn't wanted the money that came with the sale, no she promised Marie that all money from her sales could be split, some of it to Marie's family and the other part to charity. She didn't need the funds anyway, not when her grandmother had bequeathed her a large sum for her eighteenth birthday and while she had access to it she didn't really use it. There would be more later once she reached a certain age or married, whichever came first. "That was one of yours?" he now asked, rather surprised to find that the rather dark piece was the Goth's own work.

"Yeah, there are a few others in the gallery, but I only did a few before coming here." Dan recalled some of the paper wrapped packages that had been in the car when he had arrived at Sam's place the morning she was set to go. There had been one big one and a few medium sized ones, but had thought nothing of it as he loaded the rest of her stuff while she had finished getting ready. "What did you think of it?" she queried with a look in her eyes, one that wanted him to be truthful, not that he would lie to Sam, but how would she take his thoughts on the dark image?

"Dark," he said as the pair turned to watch a few more guests enter the gallery. It was just about closing time, only another hour to go and still people milled around them. She chuckled.

"Are you saying that you didn't like it?" He shook his head. He had liked it, but it was rather sad looking and when she realized that he was trying to figure her work out she clarified for him. "Dan, it doesn't have to do with death, not real death. It's more about the fact that good people suffer even if they never show it." His mouth formed a small 'o' as he realized what she was saying. He hadn't thought it meant death, but for an angel to be there with blood around it and on it, well, that was rather hard to decipher. "You do remember that I am Goth, right?" she asked with a soft smile.

"Yeah, it just wasn't something I figured you to create, strange thing to say, but that's how I feel." She allowed the male to pull her close, unaware that a certain red head was walking by the gallery, her teal eyes drawn to the art that hung in the window before her. Feeling drawn to the art before her she entered the gallery. Looking around her at all the people and the art she failed to notice the familiar woman before her. She walked behind them, her teal eyes taking in all the different pieces, none of them the same, but stopped when she heard Sam's voice.

"Yeah, well, it's not as dark as some of my other creations, but most of those are just in a drawing pad." He shook his head at her, the red head moving further away when she realized that the person talking was Sam, but she couldn't tell who the male standing with her was.

"What is darker than an angel with blood?" he inquired. Sam explained that she would show them when they got back home and he dropped it as they waited for the clock to strike five. "Well, what is the plan for tomorrow?" Dan asked, his eyes drawn to the clock over the door that read 4:45pm.

"Well, I have my first recording at noon and then after that we can go to lunch at one of the local diners," Sam said with a shrug. "Unless you just want to eat in." The red headed female tried to move around where she could see the male with the Goth, but it was proving rather hard without either of them spotting her. Just then one of the patrons called Sam over, the male moving with her but he glanced her way for a moment, but didn't seem to see her.

"Danny?" she asked herself silently. The male had the same blue eyes as her brother, but then she shook her head. Her brother had grown and while she hadn't seen him in a while he was nowhere near as buff or as old as this male, but who was he? Why was he hanging around Sam? She headed for the door as a bell rang in the building, most patrons not even looking up as they continued to mill around the art on the walls. As soon as the woman was outside she pulled out her phone and called her brother.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Across the country the raven haired male was getting ready for another date with his girlfriend when his phone rang, the ringtone alerting him to the fact that it was his sister. He hadn't heard from her in a few months, with her collage classes taking up most of her time, but for her to call this late, well, then again it was five where she was and seven here so it wasn't really late. Usually she was studying at this time though so he was sure it had to be something important for her to call and even though he knew his date would be rather upset he still picked up the call.

"Hey, Jazz, what's up?" Danny listened for a moment, his brows coming down. "Yeah, Sam had a male with her the day she left," the halfa stated, rather annoyed to be forced to remember that moment in time when he had seen the strange male around his friend. "Didn't catch his name though." Jazz spoke again and now the halfa found himself blinking in confusion. "He looked like me?" More talking made the raven haired man growl. There was no way what she was saying was true! "You think that it is Dan... as in my evil half that we locked away in a thermos? That doesn't make sense, Jazz." She began to talk quickly, her voice growing in volume. "Okay, okay, damn it." Sighing he headed downstairs, the sound of their parents working away in the lab part of the background as he headed outside. "Jazz, Sam would kill me for, well, for spying on her or questioning her judgement and while I didn't like the man, I can talk to her about it when she comes home at the end of summer." After reiterating that he would talk to the Goth Danny climbed in the Fenton RV, his mind on the fact that his sister really thought it was Dan with Sam.

He had thought the male looked familiar, but had never seen a human Dan either since the male was made up of both his ghost half and Vlad's. He had no human in him and while he had been able to portray Danny at the age of 14 he very much doubted that the male could do what his sister seemed to think he could do. Even as he thought this he still found his mind on Sam and what was going on with the raven haired woman. He had fucked up with her just weeks ago and while he was upset that she had banished him from her room...well, from her life, he knew that she was right to do that. Who jumped their best friend like that?! While he had been separated from Paulina at that time, free to be with who he wanted to, he had no clue why he had jumped the one person who had stuck with him even after being put in danger on numerous occasions.

He thought back to that moment when she had wished that they had never met and he knew that while it had proven his need for the Goth, he had known that it was wrong of him to crush on the raven haired beauty. She was his friend, his best friend, and even thinking about a relationship with her like that was taboo. He didn't want to wreak their relationship if it all went south, but still he had fucked up enough to push her away though he felt that like other times he had made a serious mis-step that they would be fine. They always made up, that time apart because of Desiree, had shown them that their friendship was far more important. Still, he had become popular and while Tucker had walked away, Sam had not. Would this be the fi-

He shook his head to dispel those negative thoughts just as he pulled up before Paulina's house, the Latina standing at the door with a bright smile. She rushed to enter the RV, pulling Danny down for a kiss at the moment she was in her seat. With that the halfa forgot about what was going on with his friend, though the thought lay in the back of his mind waiting for the perfect chance to jump out and seize his thoughts.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The red head glared down at her phone, her mind on the fact that Danny was blowing off the possibility that Sam might be in danger. As she shoved the offending piece of technology into her pocket, the sound of a lock clicking into place brought her back to reality as her name was called. "Jazz?" The older female tensed, her eyes wide as she turned to face the very person she was worried about to find that the male at her side was looking at her as well.

"Oh, hi, Sam," Jazz said, her hand falling behind her long red locks. "I didn't know you were here." A black brow rose on the Goth's face, but Dan next to her could tell that the woman before them was lying, well, partly lying and so he decided to call her out.

"Now that I feel is a lie, Jazz," he stated, causing both females to look at him in surprise, but he only pulled Sam close to him as he continued. "While you may not have been aware that she was here until about fifteen minutes ago, you did know she was in that gallery." He pointed to the building that Sam had just locked. "In fact you were just in there, were you not?" Now the Goth was officially confused. The other woman had been in the gallery? When? She glanced up at Dan to note that he was looking rather serious looking, but not mad.

"You came in?" Sam asked, turning her attention to the red headed woman. "Why didn't you say hi or something?" Jazz seemed to come back from wherever her head had been, her teal eyes blinking as she let out an embarrassed chuckle. Explaining that she had seen the art in the window and had entered unknowing that Sam was in there had thought maybe she was invading the other woman's space. Strangely Sam found that she agreed with Dan. Jazz was acting so weird and then it struck her, her eyes narrowing. "You called Danny didn't you?"

"Um, I did call him, but he seemed to know that you were out here and everything," the red head explained. The raven haired woman sighed.

"It is because of him, isn't it?" she inquired while pointing at Dan beside her. Even without an answer Sam knew that Jazz was concerned about the fact that Dan was there. "Well, first off, yes this is Dan and yes, the same one that tried to kill us all when we were younger." The red head looked up at the older halfa, her eyes growing wide at the realization that she was correct. "He's not evil and he is my friend, not that that is anyone's business but my own." Dan just stood there silently as his sister stared up at him, her eyes watching him with fear flickering in them. "Now, if you don't mind we will be heading home." Without waiting for the other woman to say a word she and the older halfa headed off toward her car. While Dan would rather fly them around at times, he didn't dare draw attention to himself or Sam by doing such a thing. It was when they shut the doors after entering the car that Jazz seemed to come out of her trance.

"Wait, Sam," she called out, rushing to the driver side of the car where Sam was sitting behind the wheel. The Goth didn't even look over at her, intent on just driving off, but once again Dan said a few words and with a huff she rolled down the window.

"While I am not in the mood to deal with the Fentons in this time, Dan believes that we should invite you over for lunch tomorrow." The red head glanced over at the male, his eyes now closed as he leaned back against the headrest, though she could tell that he was ever alert to what was going on. She nodded and after writing her number down for Danny's older sister was off into the night. Jazz just stood there, in complete shock and while she wanted to call her brother back she sent a text instead. After it went thru she knew that her brother was going to be pissed off at what she had done, not that she had intended to get caught, but also the fact that she had seemed to add to Sam's sudden interest to stay away from their family. That sounded like how her family was, not Sam. Her parents had always tried to keep them separate, even filing a restraining order, but for Sam to be feeling no love for them that was strange. What had her brother done to earn them scorn from his long time friend?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hours later found Danny in his room, the halfa relaxing on his computer before bed. Working for your parents had its benefits, like not having to really work unless you were needed and as he was the Phantom he knew when a ghost was about so there was that. He had yet to notice the single text from Jazz that night, having spent several hours with Paulina at the movies and then at dinner. The Latina had been rather upset that he had been late, and even after he had told her why she had still been rather ticked off. He blew it off since the former cheerleader was known to be high maintenance and required more attention than even Valerie had wanted. Shaking his head he decided to check his social media and nearly fell out of his chair at a post from his sister. Before him was Jazz in front of a gallery, a picture behind her drawing his attention. It looked familiar, like he had seen something similar in the last few years.

It was of a shadow of a woman, her body bathed in black with what appeared to be flames coming out from the base of what appeared to be a dress around her body, though it all blended into one while shadowy wings were wrapped loosely around the dark form. The figure had no face, well, not any features save for the glowing white eyes that looked back at him. Where had he seen such a creation? Below it was text, several people making comments about the artwork and then a comment by Tucker made him realize that he knew where he had seen a painting like that. "Sam." He had seen a similar piece in her room next to a painting of the night sky with a single meteor streaking by. Next to that painting was another one of a familiar place, a lone tree looking out over a city. Had Sam painted those? He had never asked her about the artwork in her room, though he had pointed out that it was rather cool looking. Sam hadn't said anything about it at the time, but maybe it was because she hadn't wanted too many questions asked about the paintings.

It seemed that Jazz had just come across some artwork, even her own words were about an artist named Alexandra who had painted the pieces. She said she would be hanging out with one of the people who ran the gallery. She didn't name this person, but Danny felt that something about that second picture told him that it was Sam's own work. She had said she would be learning her trade, though with all that had been going on with his rise in popularity he couldn't recall her saying what she wanted to do with her life.

Another sound interrupted his thoughts, the sound of his cell phone alerting him to an unread message. Frowning at the device in question, the black phone laying on the bedside table he continued to read the comments regarding his sister's post before letting out a yawn. God, dating Paulina was a tiring task to say the least and he was ready to hit the sack. It took him all of five minutes to ready himself for bed and without a thought about the message still waiting for him he crawled into bed and was out as a familiar dream entered his subconscious... one about a certain raven haired beauty in his arms as he kissed her neck, her moans warming his blood as he moved in her.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A certain raven haired woman rolled over, her alarm going off to her left. Groaning as she shifted away from her bedmate, the Goth slammed down her hand on the loud electronic just as Dan stretched next to her. Her eyes narrowed on the time as her sleepy vision cleared. It was just after nine in the morning and while she didn't have to be at her recording session until noon, but because of a certain red headed female she was forced to get up early. She was so not a morning person, but Dan had been right. The air needed to be cleared as Jazz had done nothing to earn her scorn, save for the fact that the sibling had called the halfa about something that was none of his business.

"You coming?" she inquired of the half naked male behind her as she sat up, her feet hitting the soft carpeted floor. He nodded, opening his eyes to see her rather ticked off face change to one of happiness. Leaning over she bestowed him with a kiss on the cheek before rushing off to take a shower as she did most mornings. The halfa crawled out of bed and after finding something to wear awaited the raven haired woman in the shower. Unlike most women the Goth was quick to get in and out of the shower, the male only having to wait mere minutes before she appeared before him and ready to go.

"I know you don't want to deal with her, Sam, but I plan on doing most of the talking as she is more concerned with me being here than what you are doing," the older halfa stated as he pulled his friend toward him as they exited the small house and headed for her car.

"Yeah, she's concerned about why you are here and why I am hanging out with you, neither is her business really and then to involve Danny in it is-" she let out a growl, Dan chuckling at her. "God damn it, she acts like he's my keeper or something! He doesn't need to know what I do with my life! He has his own life and I have mine!" Turning her toward him the larger halfa hugged her toward him, his body vibrating as he chuckled at her tiny temper tantrum. He knew that eventually the younger halfa would come to terms with his feelings for the Goth that was now in his arms and if he didn't then his loss was also Sam's loss even if she didn't want to admit it. The sound of his laughter, the feeling of him holding her seemed to calm the small woman down as she let out a sigh, her arms coming around his waist as far as she could get them. "Thank you, Dan," she murmured into his chest.

"You know that I would do whatever I could to make your life easier," he murmured, kissing the top of her head before pulling back. "Now, let's go talk to my sister." Grinning she took his hand as they headed for her car.

Danny had just woken up, the sound of his phone going off and bringing him out of his erotic dreams. With a growl of frustration he glanced at the phone and seeing his girlfriend's name on the screen still found him feeling rather ticked off. It was just after nine in the morning and he had wanted to finish that dream. Straightening the slight bulge in his boxers he answered the phone, willing his voice to sound not so ticked off.

"Hey, babe, what's up?" She said nothing for a moment before she finally spoke, her voice sounding upset about something, though with her simpering on the other end of the device he couldn't decipher what she was babbling on about. Why did he love this woman again? She whined constantly and she required as much attention as a dog, so dependent on him for affection and while at one point he had wanted her, for some reason he couldn't think of that same rationale now. She was negative in so many ways, even his dreams didn't want her in them. No, another woman invaded his dreams, those dreams that had become a rather surprising reality just weeks ago. He gave himself a mental shake. Damn it! Why was he still stuck on that?! He had fucked up with Sam, his words coming out wrong and the Gothic woman giving him no time to explain what he had meant by them.

Finally he snapped back to reality, the sound of his rather pissed off girlfriend causing his sour mood to plummet even faster. "Paulina," he snapped, her silence telling him that he had her attention. "I don't think that this is working out." A sound of surprise and anger came thru the phone in his hand, but he found that he didn't care. She wasn't worth his time when all she cared about was herself and her needs. He needed sleep and she had always seemed to give little concern to that fact. He fought ghosts for fuck's sake and needed his sleep, though this time it had been a dream that had kept him in his bed. She was not the kind of woman that he needed in his life and with that he stated, "We are done." Click. He was about to toss the phone when he noticed the message still blinking on his screen. It was from Jazz. He knew he couldn't get back to sleep and with the fact that if he didn't at least see what she wanted she would just call to bother him again or involve their parents in seeing her side of things. Tapping the message he found himself glaring down at the text.

She admitted it was Dan. Danny, I think that they might be together. I'm going to meet them tomorrow for brunch.

Sam wouldn't date Dan, would she? He smacked his face in frustration. What the fuck was going on with his life? His sister was doing her normal thing of sticking her nose where it didn't belong... His friend was supposingly seeing his evil half that was supposed to be locked up in the Fenton Thermos with Clockwork guarding it and he had just dumped his girlfriend of quite a few years... Not to mention he had had sex with his friend only to let his brain speak for him... Sighing he was about to crawl back into bed, even if he was sure he wouldn't get any sleep when his phone went off again. Growling he answered it, his mouth open to give his sister a piece of his mind when the voice on the other end stopped him.


	3. Chapter 3

Dan and Sam headed into the back of a local eatery, the waiter taking them to the outdoor eating space in the back where they could have privacy while talking to the red head. She didn't want any major attention while the pair let the other woman know how they felt and what was going on. While they could have just talked at their home, she didn't want the red head to know where she lived. No, if she was to find out the address then she might send Danny to come and talk some sense into her. They found said female at the table, her head down as she messed with her phone. She looked nervous and while the pair were sure it had to do with Dan, they were only part right. As soon as they sat down Jazz put her phone down on the table, the waiter taking the order while her phone went dark.

"So, what is bothering you, Jazz?" Sam inquired, deciding to be nice since Dan had asked her to. The red head prayed that if Danny answered that he wouldn't speak, her eyes locking with Sam's amethyst orbs for a moment before looking to Dan. The halfa looked relaxed, his demeanor a complete 180 from the time he had tried to kill them all. He didn't seem all that evil, not when she looked into those blue eyes... Danny's eyes.

"Um, so, I wanted to know what was going on," she asked as she gestured towards the older halfa.

"Dan didn't escape, if that is what you are asking," the Goth stated.

"Clockwork let me out last year," Dan stated. "I have been living in the tower, free to aid the keeper of time, though he does piss me off. I only came to this time to help Sam." Jazz could sense that there was more to this, but judging by the look on his face that was all he was going to give her. "She is aware that I can't stay forever, which would be a dream come true, but we're both adults and quite happy with what little time we get together."

"How long do you have?" the red head found herself asking. He shrugged.

"Not really sure, but I will spend as much time with my friend as I can." The red head began to wonder what would happen when Sam went back home at the end of the summer and how Dan would fit into the Goth's life in Amity. "It doesn't matter," the halfa said to the surprise of the red head. Sam just sat there, her head leaning against Dan's shoulder as he talked, his smooth baritone relaxing her body. She was still feeling rather sleepy, though getting up earlier and the anxiety of running into Jazz was probably the cause for her lack of sleep, not that she had been sleeping very well lately. She hadn't gotten any real good sleep since the move to California, most of her nights filled with dreams that left her angry at herself. She had just had to let her heart lead and this is what it had gotten her. Sighing she turned to the man at her side, her head still resting on his shoulder as her eyes closed.

"So," Jazz said, noting that Sam was nearly asleep on the older halfa's shoulder, his arm wrapped around her waist keeping her upright. "Are you and Sam... dating or something?" The older male glared at her, ready to snap, but he didn't want to wake up the Goth in his arms as he felt her even breathing, her body lax against his arm.

"Not really any of your business, now is it," he stated. "What Sam does isn't anyone's business but her own and while I am on that note." He leaned closer, but not close enough to move Sam off of him but close enough that Jazz could feel the chill coming off of him, his eyes serious but no longer angry. "Pass on a message to the brat." She nodded. "He is losing her. She is starting to imagine life without him in it and this time she may not be afraid to take that step." Pulling the Goth into his arms he headed away from the table leaving Jazz to stare at the back of him in shock. He was giving them a clue, a warning of what the Goth was going to do, but what did it mean?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

On the other end of the phone Danny had paled, his eyes wide as he replayed those parting words. They stung, but unlike Jazz he wasn't analyzing the words, no, he was taking them to heart...

He is losing her. She is starting to imagine life without him in it and this time she may not be afraid to take that step.

He couldn't imagine life without her in it, but what could he do to show her how he felt? Then he had to ask himself that question. How did he feel about his friend? He loved her, but was it a love that one shared with their soulmate or was it just a love between friends? His head began to ache in rhythm to his heart, the organ pumping hard as fear gripped it. Did it matter to her which love they had? It had to if she was willing to walk away like Tucker had. He sat down on his bed, his head falling into his hands as he sat there, his mind going over the last several years. He had changed, taking the chance to become popular and even when he had given the pair an open invite to a party or even just to hang out, neither had wanted to join him in the popular circle. Tucker had out right left while Sam had stayed by his side, the trio down to a duo, with Tucker even abandoning them when they were fighting ghosts.

He had been upset with the male, but he had never voiced it and then it struck him. He had fought the ghosts with Sam and Tucker like they always had, but then when all was said and done he had left them behind after making that same mistake early on with his ghost powers. He had promised that he would never do that to them again, realizing that after the debacle with Technus and Dash's party, that he was abusing his friendships, but yet he had done it again.

Pushing a button on his phone he decided that now that he knew he had fucked up with both of his friends that he needed to make amends. First he would mend the mess he had made with Tucker and then when he found out where Sam was he would go and... He stopped, his phone ringing in his ear. What would he do with Sam? Their relationship had been the strongest between the three of them and theirs would entail more than just 'I'm sorry'. He had to figure out these feelings he had for her and then he could go to her. Would she still wait for him when he finally detangled that mess between his heart and his mind?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dan drove down the street, his eyes flickering over to his sleeping passenger. He knew that she was still having problems sleeping, had for a few years now. That was one of the reasons he had come to her aide. He had been worried when the dark circles had appeared under her normally bright eyes, that an the weight loss. Sam wasn't the kind of person to let anything bother her, but the younger male's behavior had always affected her. He knew she loved the younger halfa, but with those feelings came the pain of Danny not accepting those feelings and her just too afraid to tell him. Why would you want to ruin a great friendship? Love. You could never ruin a great friendship if there was love involved and with him he had found that out too late. His Goth was dead, their relationship stuck on friendship when he should have had the balls to say something to her.

Sure, it could have been awkward, but he had felt that his Sam would have just told him off if she hadn't been interested and while it may have strained the relationship, it would have been strong enough to get past those feelings. Hell, he would have done what she was doing now. He would have given her space so that they could both figure out their roles. He didn't fault her for what she had done, but after what she had said had happened with his younger self, he wondered if she had reacted too quickly, though he had seen the hurt lurking in the depths of her gaze. Sam was the one person that was strong enough to deal with others belittling her or even bullying her, that was evident by what he saw, but the younger halfa's reaction to having sex with her had been stupid as well as thoughtless. Scowling her heard her yawn, her small form stretching as she turned to her head to look at him.

With a sleepy smile she murmured, "Damn, did I fall asleep?" He nodded, a small smile on his lips. "Sorry." She moved to sit up further, but his hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Sam, just relax," he said, squeezing her skin that was exposed by the large shirt she had chosen to wear that day. "You need to get more sleep so take this time to take a nap." She wanted to protest, but a yawn cut her off, her cheeks flaming as she covered her mouth. Dan just chuckled at her. She wanted to be mad, but she knew he was right so the Goth laid back, her eyes closing as she allowed sleep to take her back into the Land of Nod. Shaking his head at her he pulled up to the place where she would be recording her music. He couldn't recall a time that he had ever heard the raven haired female sing and was rather intrigued to hear her in action. Pulling into a parking spot close to the door, but far enough that they wouldn't be disturbed he leaned his chair back before pulling the woman next to him into his arms. Sam sighed as she felt the chill from his body, her own relaxing further as she got comfortable. That was the thing between them. He seemed to relax her and allow her mind to shut down so she could sleep. Strangely enough that had been something that both had felt even when they had been younger. The other person could calm them, make them feel safe and dare he say it, but loved.

His feelings for his friend had come to light during the Ember incident, but he had written it off as being the effects of the rocker's guitar. It had been shown to him many times after that, when they kissed during fake-outs as well as few instances of holding hands. She had been by his side thru it all, standing tall even when she had been in the most dangerous situations because of him and that wasn't even about the ghost attacks. No, his Sam, unknown to him at the time had been bullied by Paulina, a girl he had had a crush on. This Goth, the one laying in his arms sleeping, had been thru worse. It seemed that with the years after she had died in his time that Paulina had gotten aggressive in her mission to crush the small raven haired female. He had thought it had to do with the time that Sam had called the Latina shallow, but it had gone beyond that. The Latina had started dating his younger self and since Sam had refused to walk away the other female had taken to trying to kill the Goth or injure her, though he could bet it was death because then Sam would no longer be there to hog the attention from her.

Stroking her long raven hair, Dan closed his own eyes, noting that they had another couple hours before Sam's recording session, before falling asleep with a content smile on his face. Too bad he couldn't claim the small woman as his own.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tucker opened the door to his home, his parents on vacation for the next month, to find the halfa standing there. The techno-geek ushered the other male into his family's home, Sar peeking out from the main room as he entered. She said nothing as the pair of males walked past her into the main room, the tension in the air so strong and thick that Danny was sure he would choke on it. They all sat down, Star and Tucker on the couch while the halfa found a seat on a chair across from them. No one said a word, though Tucker had agreed on the phone to talk to him.

"You were being a rotten friend," the blond suddenly said, her teal eyes narrowed on the male before her, her fiancé taking her hand in his. She looked to him with a frown. "Well he was! And not just to you but to Sam he was worse!" Danny blinked at that. Tucker shook his head and turned to his former friend.

"She's right," the dark skinned male stated, though he didn't sound happy he wasn't bitching the other male out. "I don't know if you knew it and I was sworn to secrecy, but Sam loved you."

"W-What?" Danny gasped out. His friend, his best friend had loved him? He should have known this, especially when she had kissed him back, falling apart in his arms as he pulled her closer, but he had been clueless, thinking only of his own turbulent feelings.

"Danny, anyone could see it! Hell, your own parents saw it!" Tucker pulled a familiar piece of jewelry out, the small school ring glinting in the light from the window behind the halfa. His eyes grew wide at what he was seeing. The halfa looked up at his friend, shock so clear on his face and questions that begged to be answered. He had given that to Sam so long ago, asking her to hold onto it, so how had his other friend come to have it in his possession? "I found it in my mailbox," the other male stated with a shake of his head. "Along with a letter from Sam." Star reached over, knowing where the letter lay, and opened a drawer next to the couch. Handing it off she glared at the halfa.

"Sam stuck by you, thru it all, and even when you seemed to forget that she was your friend first she still stuck by you," the blond stated coldly. "I felt so bad for her, but nothing we could say would get her to see the big picture." Danny looked up at her, leaning back with the letter in his hand, but he didn't open it.

"What do you mean?" he inquired.

"We told her to leave you alone," Tucker stated, drawing the blue gaze of the halfa. "I told her just before I left and even after that, that she should let you go before you hurt her." The halfa snarled at that, but then he frowned. He had hurt her. He had taken her and then had reacted so poorly, but he had been hurting her for longer than that. "She was left to deal with all the crap after the ghost fights and as much as I wanted to stay and aid her, I just couldn't anymore. Friends don't do that to each other and maybe I was a bad friend to her, but I couldn't just stand there and watch her die a little inside as another day passed."

"She wasn't even particularly upset about you dating Paulina, though I know it hurt her," Star stated as she looked down at her hands, a single tear falling from her eyes for the other woman. "It was that you let popularity blind you to who really cared about you and who would be by your side when the popularity ended." She turned to Tucker, the male smiling at his bride-to-be with such love that Danny felt like he was intruding on a moment between the pair. Star had once been popular, though once she got to know Tucker she had found her other half and without a look back had started dating the dark skinned male.

"If you are really sorry," Tucker said, turning to his former friend, "Then I can forgive you, but you need to patch things up with Sam because you don't have much time on that front." Looking down at the letter in his hands he opened the envelope. The letter was long, but not too long as the Goth thanked the pair for being there for her when they could and that she would miss them. She didn't tell them much about her plans, but hinted at the fact that she didn't know if she would be at their wedding and that she wasn't sure when she would see them again, but she wished them a happy life. There was nothing in there about him, but he knew what she had been saying without saying it. Sam was saying goodbye to him. She would know that he would do the right thing in the end and fix what he had done between him and Tucker and that the male before him would show him the letter.

She hadn't wanted to put herself out there, the feelings that she felt for him when she also knew that Tucker would break and tell him what he had lost. He felt the anger rise in his chest, the feeling that seemed to overwhelm him. She had left him and while she had claimed that she would see him soon when she had known it was a lie. She wasn't coming back at the end of the summer... she wasn't coming back to him ever. Muttering a thanks to the couple before him he headed out, the sound of the door slamming echoing in the silent space.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dan awoke a few hours later, the clock reading that it was ten minutes until noon and even though he could see that his companion was still worn out he kissed her on her head and whispered in her ear, "Hey, time to wake up Sam." The raven haired girl muttered something before shifting, a groan leaving his throat as he blushed. "Damn it, woman," he murmured as he sat up, the small woman startling awake and noting right off the bat the feel of him pressed into her, blushed.

"Sorry," she murmured. She and Dan had been intimate a few times since coming to California, but now was not the time, though with a kiss on his cold lips she promised that she would make it up to him. While it wasn't the same love that she had for the younger male, she found that she felt rather comfortable with his older self enough to share her body with him. Not that they had long, but in this time she felt that they were helping each other heal. He was giving her the love she was missing and she was giving him the love that he had lost. They crawled out of the car and heading into the dark space found the booth and the person willing to give her a chance after hearing her sing a few of her songs on a cd she had sent a year or two back. She had had to wait until she was able to leave her parents' home, but she had promised him that she would produce at least one cd and that while he was allowed to pocket part of the profits, like Marie, some of it had to go to charity. He had been fine with that, especially with as long as she had known him.

"Hey, Sam, nice to see you after so many years," the young male said, his own age close to Dan's if not a few years older. The halfa at her side growled a warning, the Goth slipping her hand into his.

"Hey, Dean," she said as she reached out to shake his hand. "This is Dan." The dark haired male eyed the other dark haired male, his blue eyes noting the deep green orbs that looked at him with such friendliness that he was shocked when he found himself shaking the other male's hand. "How is Rose doing?" The older male looked a might uncomfortable at that question and Sam giggled. "That bad huh?" The halfa at her side raised a brow.

"She's in the last month and man are her hormones in a rage," the male stated and Dan got what was going on. This male had a wife or a girlfriend and she was pregnant. "So, is this the boy you were telling me about? The one that is part ghost?" Sam nodded, but then quickly pointed out that he was the future version of the male in question. Seeing that Dan was confused she clarified that she had met Dean when he and Tucker had gone on to space camp that one summer. "You ready?" he inquired and Sam nodded. The trio headed into the booth, a couple of men manning the system that would record her while Dean followed her into the actual booth where she would sing. Before her were a few people ready with instruments to accompany her. Thanking him the pair of males headed out of the room so that they could watch her from behind the glass. Dean turned to Dan. "I assume you have yet to hear her sing then?" Dan shook his head. "Prepare to lose your mind." Grinning the pair along with the two technicians watched as the music began to play, the controllers working to make it sound great, but when Sam opened her mouth to sing, the older male found himself lost.

"Empty spaces, fill me up with holes," Sam sang, the music behind her sounding so sad as her voice blended in while at the same time rising above it. "Distant faces, with no place left to go."

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Danny rushed back home, intent on not only getting in contact with his sister, but going to California to find the Goth that thought she would leave him behind. She had run from him, hid away from him with only a lie to give her that time to flee, but as he thought this he knew that she had been planning this... she had been planning to walk away from him and to never return.

"Without you, within me, I can't find no rest."

He couldn't allow her to do that! He wouldn't let her leave him, not when he was coming to terms with his own feelings. He needed to find her, to prove that he had made two mistakes that day that they had come together. He had let her go, hadn't fought her when she had shoved him out the door and the fact that he had opened his mouth without thinking, the fears of his mind leaving his heart in the dust.

"Where I'm going, is anybody's guess."

Tearing thru his home toward his room, he gathered clothing, tossing it haphazardly into a gym bag on his bed, his mind in chaos as he thought back on all those times that she had not walked away, even after she had made that one wish in anger. She had still come to stand by him, willing him to her side because without her at his side he would have gone down a road that wasn't his fate. His fate was being the Phantom and being with her and only her.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"I tried, to go on like I never knew you," the raven haired woman sang, her voice rising with the emotions that seemed to flow out of her, the music keeping close to her feelings. Dan could feel her pain, could see it in her eyes even as she tried to hold it back. "I'm awake, but my world is half asleep." Her eyes were glistening, those amethyst orbs unseeing. She was looking into her heart and finding all those memories. She was talking about her time before meeting Danny, the feelings that she felt when she was surrounded by her family's inner circle of friends.

"I pray for this heart to be unbroken." She was singing about what she was doing now, the place she was looking for to hide from those feelings that clenched her heart tight. Sam was even singing about the time that she had wished that she had never met the male who had her heart. "But without you, all I'm going to be is..." Dan didn't know what to say, his own heart breaking as he could see the Sam from his own time standing before him with those same fears, those same feelings that were left... "incomplete." The music swelled with her words, her voice lowering as she drew out that one word, a word that both of them knew so well.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Danny was moving so quickly, his mind on what he was going to say when he did finally locate her that he failed to hear the knock on the door as he zipped the bag up. When he finally stormed down the stairs, his sneakers hitting the carpet with loud thumps, he grabbed the keys to the RV before opening the door to find Paulina in his way.

"Voices tell me I should carry on."

"Get out of my way," the halfa snarled, his eyes flashing green at the woman before him, but the Latina didn't listen, her hands falling on her hips as she glared up at her ex. Danny didn't have time for this! He wasn't going to let this fucking bitch keep him from finding the one that really belonged by his side. "I mean it, Paulina."

"But I am, swimming, in an ocean all alone."

The Latina attempted to pull him down to her, her lips puckering to receive his, but Danny wasn't having it and shoving her aside with no care for where she landed he rushed off, the door locking behind him as he headed for the RV. The Latina glared at his back, her eyes flashing at his dismissal of her. "Danny, get back here!" She stomped her foot like a petulant child having a fit, but the halfa wasn't swayed.

"Fuck off!" he spat as he slammed the driver side door before peeling off down the street. Paulina stood there in shock at his sudden anger. She had never had him snap at her. He had always bent to her will, no matter who- Her eyes narrowed as she realized who had come in-between her and Danny.

"Baby, my baby, it's written on your face."

Danny was pushing a few buttons on the screen before him, the car's phone ringing as he willed his sister to answer the call, to not be in class at that moment, but when he only got her voicemail he knew that she was indeed in class and therefor unable to answer his call. He hung up with a slam of his fist on the console, refusing to leave a message when he was too angry to even be civil to his sibling. He should have listened to her when she had voiced her worry for his friend... Not that Dan was in the way, but that he had lost the Goth the moment he had allowed her to leave town that day.

"You still wonder if we made a big mistake."

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sam looked thru the glass, Dan watching her with a look of surprise on his face, while emotions flickered thru his blue orbs. "I tried, to go on like I never knew you. I'm awake, but my world is half asleep." He seemed to be singing along with her, his mouth moving in time to the words coming from her own mouth and she knew that he understood what she was singing about. "I pray, for this heart to be unbroken, but without you all I'm going to be is... incomplete." The music swelled again before going back down as she sang her final verses. "I don't mean to drag it on, but I can't seem to let you go."

"She's something else," Dean murmured. Dan nodded beside him even as he continued to watch the Goth lay her heart bare before them.

"I don't want to make you face this world alone. I want to let you go." The music swelled again as the woman before him smiled, the lift of her lips a sad one and yet, she seemed to feel better putting it out there. It was her way of letting the halfa she loved know that even if she never came back to him that he would always be a part of her... Something that would be missing without him. "I tried, to go on like I never knew you. I'm awake, but my world is half asleep." He began to mouth the words again, the male next to him even finding himself singing silently along. "I pray for this heart to be unbroken, but without you, all I'm going to be is... incomplete." Cheers and praise broke out around the small Goth, but she was looking at him, the glass still separating them and he knew that she wasn't just singing for her missing half, but for his lost one. That song wasn't just about her... and it wasn't just about him... No, this was a song that many people could relate to. He moved into the room with her and before everyone standing there pulled her into his arms and let the small woman cry softly into his chest.


	4. Chapter 4

Hours later found the pair back at home, the small Goth worn out from crying as well as the fact that she had just spent hours in the booth recording more than five songs. Though Dan had been ready to take her back home after her break down, the small woman had been intent on finishing her CD before they left. Dean had promised that it would be on the radio before the day was thru and while Dan had been proud of her he could see that she had pushed herself too far. He was worried, the small woman in his arms curled up in his arms as he took her to their room where he deposited her on the bed. She mumbled something as she turned over, the raven haired male sighing as he turned to leave her in piece. He wanted to curl up around her, but wasn't feeling particularly sleepy at the moment, so many thoughts running thru his head. The main one that kept creeping back into his thoughts was about his younger half. What had the brat been thinking when he had uttered whatever he had said to make the strong female break down.

He had seen it in her eyes as she sang. Those words, those actions of that day were still in her brain, still in her heart and they were tormenting her every second. He knew how that felt. He was still seeing his Sam's death in his mind, the scene always the same, the feeling of loss as the Nasty Burger blew up before him. His eyes flashed red as he recalled the anger he had felt for the teacher that had brought them all there. He had never felt such rage for the balding male, though he had been irritated with the male for always siding with the popular kids. Sam shouldn't have been there, but like a good friend she had come to defend him, to try and make the teacher see something that she couldn't really explain. She couldn't reveal his secret, but maybe she had hoped to help him in another way. Either way, his friends should not have come to that doomed destination. His parents shouldn't have been there and it was truly his fault that they had been there. He had been tempted by something, a free pass after all he had done to protect his town.

He still blamed the adult for doing something as dangerous as bringing them to the burnt remains of the fast food restaurant. He was a grown man for fuck's sake and should have known that after the initial explosion that the place was not a place to be, but he had wanted to shock his parents and him into understanding where the young halfa would end up, not that Dan would have really cared. He had realized after spending years in the thermos, that had he not cheated on that test that his parents might have been upset, but once they had found out his secret or even without knowing it, they would have been okay in the end. They would have accepted him for who he was. He would have just ended up joining his parents with hunting down ghosts. Hell, Danny had revealed his identity and they had been upset, but they had accepted him for who he was. Had he known that his life would become better in a few more years he wouldn't have done it. He would have just failed the test and maybe found a way to help his grade. Sighing he sat down in their main room on the couch. He hoped that Jazz relayed that message to the young male because even if the halfa had hurt Sam, and he knew that she would walk away from him, the pair of them belonged together. While he would never have that chance to be with his Sam, the Goth deserved to be with the one she wanted... the one she loved.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

That particular person was still driving, the RV and him both intangible. Danny hadn't planned on doing that, but he had seen how long it would take for him to get to his destination... Thirty-two hours! That was just a day and a half, but he knew that upon Jazz finding out about her being with Dan, the Goth could run. He wasn't sure if she would, but still, it was frustrating to think that he was so far away with the unknown ahead of him. That frustration built up forced his anger to rise with it. Figuring that he would need to calm down as, while his powers had grown stronger over the years, he would need to conserve them for this long trip. He doubted that they would last the whole trip, but it would shave hours off his drive and so leaning over he turned on the radio, a song just beginning as the soft sounding music immediately failed to calm him. He needed something to rock out to and so he went to change it when a female began to sing to his surprise.

"I don't want you to give it all up and leave your own life collecting dust," the female sang, her tone full of remorse and sadness. He pulled his hand back, his green eyes on the road as he continued to listen. "And I don't want you to feel sorry for me... You never gave us a chance to be!" What had started out as a slow song began to build, the last words spoke by the unknown singer rising in volume as her once soft voice became rough with anger. Her voice sounded so familiar and yet he couldn't seem to pinpoint when he had heard this particular artist. "And I don't need you to be by my side and tell me that everything's all right." Her tone was rather soft again, though there was a rough sound to it, like her anger was struggling to rise to the surface. His mind began to scream in frustration that he knew this person who was singing! He couldn't peg a name down. "I just wanted you to tell me the truth. You know I'd do that for you!"

The words began to fill his head, the fact that this woman was almost singing about his relationship with a certain raven haired woman. He had done just as she had said in the song. He had left his life behind at that moment, his long term relationship, to chase after Sam. The fact that he had been her one time lover... The way he had tried to smooth things over after the act... The next words reflected what Sam was doing right now. "So why are you running away? Why are you running away?" Her voice was husky with emotion, the anger and pain over whoever she was singing about.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Goth in question found herself a day later behind a easel, a large canvas before her and Dan sitting on the bed before her. Though she couldn't see the look of discomfort on his face she knew the male was probably scowling at her. "And why did you need me to pose?" he asked, the tone telling her that she was right and when she peeked around the canvas to look at him, a big smile on her face, he was indeed scowling.

I did enough to show you that I was willing to give and sacrifice

"You are the right person for the role in my painting," was her response. "Though, could you lay on your side, you know, lean over onto your hand...and keep scowling." The older halfa snorted, but complied with her instructions. After he had gotten posed the way she wanted the Gothic female stood up and heading to one of the suitcases located a deep green shirt, the article of clothing laid against his lower body, just below his belly button. It didn't cover much, but she was just testing out ideas for her painting. She had the pose in her mind and an idea of what she wanted... partially, but she was still missing part of the idea. Smiling at the male before her she leaned over and with a quick peck on his lips turned to head back to her easel.

And I was the one who was lifting you up when you thought your life had had enough

It didn't take long for her to start sketching out what she wanted, her small frame moving quickly to outline her subject and another thirty minutes to have most of him filled in. Dan lay there, his cheeks still slightly flushed at her quick little kiss even if he was still holding the scowl. After finishing up some of the finer details after another thirty minutes she told him that he could move. The large male felt the ache from sitting that way as he sat up to stretch. After getting the blood flowing in the numb part of his body he went to check on what she had created, but Sam was quicker as she stood up to block his way. The dark haired male raised a brow at her sudden movement.

And when I get close you turn away, there's nothing that I can do or say

"No peeking at it until it is done," she stated, moving to push him back. Dan chuckled at her. "I mean it, Dan." She tried to look tough, but compared to his large and bulky form she was tiny and easily overpowered if he so wished to do that. He shook his head with anther chuckle let it be with a promise to wait. "You won't have to wait long," she promised. "I plan to have it done in a few days so I can put it in the gallery." That was surprising. He knew that she would paint more art for the gallery that she was working in, but of him? As if she could read his mind she clarified, "I don't know if I will sell it or keep it." Knowing by the look on her face he could tell that she was torn on that subject. She was here to learn how to run a gallery, but artists in that position rarely kept their own work.

"You should probably sell it," he stated. Now she raised a brow. "That is what you are supposed to be doing with the art you create while working for the gallery, is it not?" The small woman nodded. It was true. She had come here to do a job and part of that job was supplying the gallery with artwork. She did want to keep it for the sake of having at least one tangible memory of the male before her. "We can get a camera if you want."

So now I need you to tell me the truth. You know I'd do that for you

"That's a good idea," she said with a soft smile. "Why didn't I think of that?" He smirked.

"Because I'm smarter than you." The raven haired woman frowned at him, but realizing that the male was just poking fun at her, rushed at him, her small body landing on him and knocking him to the ground even as he tried to fight the gravity. Letting out an oomph as he hit the ground he looked up at the woman on top of him as she smirked in triumph. Thinking quickly he tossed her on back, the smirk disappearing as she growled.

"Hey! That's not fair!" she said with a scowl. He laughed, his whole body vibrating against hers.

So why are you running away? Why are you running away?

"Who said that I play fair," he replied before his lips found hers in a crushing kiss. Sam moaned as she pressed her body against his, his weight crushing her in a rather pleasant way. He groaned against her lips, his body becoming harder as he pushed his lower body against her own heat. She responded in kind, a soft whimper leaving her lips as she pleaded with him by rubbing her body against him. He read her loud and clear as he floated above her, his arms wrapping around her to take her with him to the bed where the pair resumed their passionate embrace...

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hours later found Danny just a state shy of California, his energy dwindled down to nothing so the halfa had had to pull over and sleep. He had found a hotel just in time and with the funds from his allowance that he had been saving, he got a room. As soon as he was in the small room, the raven haired male crawled into be, his dreams filled with the Goth that he was chasing, the song from before repeating itself in his brain.

Is it me? Is it you?

He was sure that he had fucked up when he had stuttered out his apology to the raven haired ghost fighter, but he hadn't been saying that he hadn't wanted to be with her, though the words that had exited his lips had been ones of regret. It had been regret for the fact that he had overstepped himself. He hadn't wanted the Goth to think that he was using her as a rebound, but she had been so upset, so hurt by those words and had reacted in a way that was Sam. She had punched him, her way of removing him from her space. The Goth had been known to to do that when she was hurting. She pushed you away, but she had been so mad that the woman had punched him.

Nothing that I can do to make you change your mind

Was that true? Was there nothing he could do to correct his mistake? Was Sam unwilling to forgive his mistake and allow him to make amends. He had made so many mistakes regarding her over the years, hell, according to Tucker and Star the halfa had failed to realize how strong Sam's feelings for him were and while she had stood on the sidelines, only protesting to one particular girl and for good reason, he had continued to date the one person who had hated the Goth.

Is it me? Is it you?

Why hadn't she come to him with these unspoken feelings? Was it the same reason he hadn't spoken up? Had she been afraid to ruin their relationship or had she hoped that they would pass? How long had she had these feelings? He could recall a few times where he had felt something for the raven haired woman, and all those times he had brushed aside as either him being controlled or as a crush that he had on the one woman that had been a constant strength and weakness in his life. She had been there for him when he needed her, but at the same time she had been kidnapped several times because of her close relationship to him... That wasn't her fault, but then there were times that she had made less than wise decisions that had led to instances where it could have gone down a dangerous path.

Nothing that I can do... Is it a waste of time?

Though it was scary to think about that next step in their relationship it was a step that beckoned him. It wasn't a waste of time to see if they could make it work and while it was starting out rocky with their first intimate time together he was willing to give it a try... after all there wasn't any going back after what they had done. Not that he would take it back. It had been like coming home for the halfa, the words spoken to her though he knew that he had spoken words of regret. Had he been hoping that she would turn him away or had it been his way of telling her that he hadn't wanted to ruin what they had?

Is it me? Is it you?

Nothing that I can do to make you change your mind

No, there was no way that he wouldn't convince Sam to give him a chance, to prove that he truly loved her! He knew he loved her, it had just been a fear of ruining their friendship because a friend like the Goth was a rarity. Someone who knew when to speak up and tell you that you were making a mistake because it was dangerous waters and that same friend stepping back and letting you figure it out on your own. Sam had gone beyond that in his case. She had stood by after talking him into stepping into the portal, though had never told her that he truly had been curious about the inactive invention of his parents.

So why are you running away?

Why are you running away?

He had let her run, had let her leave him with only a lie to keep him off balance. She had hoped for a certain reaction or had assumed that he would make a certain choice and while he had no idea what was going on in her head he knew that this was the right step on the right path. She was his destination and he would never make a detour away from her again. He didn't want to lose her and even if they never got together he wanted her to know of his feelings and to stay by his side.

(what is it I have to say?)

So why are you running away?

(to make you admit you're afraid)

Why are you running away?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Danny made it into town the next day just past noon, and after getting a hold of Jazz made his way towards her place with plenty of questions about what she had seen at that meeting with Sam and Dan as well as other questions as to what was going on with the pair. Without realizing it he passed the home of said Goth, the raven haired female climbing out of bed with a smile as she headed for the shower. She had another couple of days before work at the gallery and she needed to finish her painting before then. Dan lay sleeping in bed, a smile on his face as she disappeared into the bathroom, the sound of the shower filling the room as she quickly cleaned herself.

The halfa got up just as she was coming out of the bathroom, a black towel wrapped around her body. She smiled at him as she hunted for some clothing in the suitcases, choosing to wear tight black pants that stopped at her ankles and a large purple shirt that fell to her knees. Heading back to the bathroom she shut the door. The raven haired male smiled at the door. Even though he had seen, touched, and tasted every inch of her skin the Goth was still all dressing in the privacy of the bathroom. That was Sam though. She might have become a woman just weeks ago, but she was still innocent in so many ways. Getting up he grabbed a pair of clean boxers, a pair of blue jeans and a red shirt. Once he was done he walked down the hall to another bathroom to take his own shower.

Sam came out and noting that her companion was in the other shower just shrugged. Heading for where the easel with her unfinished work sat waiting for her, she uncovered it and began to paint it after turning on some music, the sound of it mixing with the sound of the shower just down the hall. It was just another lazy day for the pair to enjoy each other's company and while the nagging feeling that it was all about to change entered her thoughts she pushed it down. She didn't want to think of that.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Danny arrived at Jazz's apartment, the red head looking like she had gotten little in the way of sleep, though she was in college... "Why are you home anyway?" he asked with a dark brow raised. "Don't you have class?" His sister shook her head.

"Only had two today and those were this morning," she replied as she shut the door after him. "What are you going to do about Sam?" She changed the subject, the real reason that he was there. "I really think that they are keeping a few things to themselves, though I find that I believe Sam about Dan being free and not breaking free from his containment." The pair sat down in her living room, the small space cramped with all the unpacked boxes that lined the walls and the books that filled the cracks between the boxes.

"Honestly, I have no idea I am going to go about it, though I do plan on going to that gallery where you were," he stated, still looking unsure about how well that would go down. "That was where you found them, right?" She nodded. "So you saw Dan then?" Again she nodded and began to fill him in on what she had seen during that short meeting with the couple, the image in Danny's head making the halfa feel angry and his heart clench at the fact that Jazz was right. It appeared that the two were closer than just a pair of friends. No, it seemed that Sam felt comfortable around the older male enough to fall asleep. While he was upset with what he was hearing, the fact that Sam hadn't heard Dan issue the warning to Jazz to pass along to him gave him hope.

It meant that the older halfa had said it knowing that Sam wouldn't hear him or it had just been timed just right, but Jazz clarified that Dan had been aware that Sam had passed out. In fact when Jazz had asked that very personal question of the older male he had looked positively ticked off, but instead of blowing up he had kept his tone low. It meant he hadn't wanted to wake the woman leaning on him. If anything Jazz felt that the warning hadn't been made to tick off Danny, but to let him know that the Goth needed him, but she was willing to leave him behind without warning... possibly never to darken their doorway again. He had seemed to want the halfa before her to come and find Sam.

"So, you think that he wanted me to come even knowing that Sam might be upset with me being here?" the halfa asked in confusion. That wasn't something he had been expecting to hear from his sister, though she had claimed that Dan wasn't really evil, just so unprepared to deal with the hand that life had dealt him at such a crossroads in his life. Her points had made sense to him, but at the same time he still found that he didn't like the male, that his actions were like something Vlad would do. Jazz had asked Danny what he would do if Sam were to die right before him, even at this age he found his heart stop at the thought that his long time friend dying. He knew that she had been the glue holding him together. She had wished their friendship away and when he recalled how his life would have gone he had realized that the step into the portal had been something he had needed to do. If he hadn't then what would have happened concerning Vlad and his plans for his parents or the people of Amity.

Sure, with the portal inactive it might have stopped the ghosts from coming from his home, but Vlad's portal, the one in Wisconsin, had been active for a while before theirs. He had had his ghost powers long before Danny and had been waiting to attack Danny's father, kill him if need be, all to get with his mother. He had even wanted to claim Danny as his own son. Removing the ghost from inside him had been the wrong move, but who was to say if he wouldn't have done the same thing without the Goth at his side telling him like she always did that his power wasn't a bad thing unless he used it like Vlad had. His ghost was only another side of him, a force that could be used in a good way or bad way. His parents had yet to learn of his powers and while Jazz had figured it out she hadn't done like Sam had. She had assisted him, but she didn't know what to think of him having such powers or how he had gotten them and then there was Tucker. He could be a great friend, but he had caused so many problems during their ghost fights, even putting Sam in danger.

"See, you can't say you wouldn't have gone down that same road, Danny," the red headed female stated. "As for Dan, I think he loves Sam and might be transferring his affections from the fact that he never got to express his own feelings to the Sam from his time while she is using him for the same thing, though she hasn't really lost the chance that he has..." she faded off and Danny could see that she was trying to figure out why the Goth had run from Amity and into the arms of their former enemy. "I can see that like him using her for his Sam that she is using him as a replacement for you, but we both know that she's not that kind of person so there ha-"

"God damn it, Jazz. I slept with her!" The teal eyes looking at him grew large. Blushing he turned from her and muttered something under his breath. Jazz leaned forward and asked him to repeat what he had said. The halfa muttered it again, this time louder, but the red head couldn't understand all of it.

"You slept with Sam... and said what?"

"I, um, I told her that I made a mistake," he hissed, guilt in his words and shame in his tone. The older female frowned at her brother, realizing why Sam had taken off and had hooked up with the older halfa.

"Ho-" she started, the halfa before her cutting her off.

"I didn't mean it how it sounded!" he growled throwing up his hands. "I didn't get to explain as Sam punched me in the face." Jazz socked him in his arm, the attack not really hurting him as much as it hurt the red headed genius. Jazz wanted to rip into him, hell, there was no reason not to at this point of the conversation, but before she could lay into him the halfa turned around to an open door was. She sputtered as the raven haired sibling stood. She stood as well when she realized the look on his face was one of confusion.

How do you fall in love?

That voice was the same one from the radio in the RV and yet it was a different song. Jazz followed behind him into her room, the place cluttered save for her bed and a desk with her laptop on it. The music was coming from the speakers of the computer.

Harder than a bullet could hit you

He turned to her, the music still playing in the background, and asked her, "Who sings this?" She frowned at him, sure that he was trying to change the subject to get away from the verbal beating she had been about to bestow on him. "I heard her on the radio earlier and, well, she sounds familiar." The red head blinked.

"The name of the singer is Alexandra, but we are not done talking about what you did to Sam," the older sibling stated as she crossed her arms.

How do we fall apart?

"Alexandra? Why does that sound familiar too?" Why couldn't he think of the answer to this mysterious singers identity. Jazz sighed and sitting down at the desk began to type away on her keyboard to look up the artist of the song she had just heard for the first time today. After a few words and a hit of the 'enter' key they found that the young woman behind the music was not listed under any more than her one name, the rest of her information blank. Now that was strange... Even a brand new singer, one that had yet to hit it big, would have their information for a fan to find out more, but this woman was different. There was nothing about her, not even her age or anything.

Faster than a hairpin trigger

"That's weird," she muttered. Scrolling down she found out when the music had been released, her head tilting to the side as she turned to him. "She only has information pertaining to the song, but not her self. The song itself was released just a day or so ago." The incident with Sam and Danny was forgotten for a second as a new mystery appeared before them. Jazz had no stock in the mystery singer, but for Danny to be sure that he knew the woman singing the song and that the name was also something he recognized made her wonder if it was more important than she even thought it could be. It was just another singer joining the mass of artists out there. "Danny, you need to clear the air with Sam before what Dan said comes true." That brought him out of his stupor as his sister turned off her Pandora radio station, the room going quiet.

"I know," he stated sounding rather helpless for a moment before he said, "I need you to take me to that gallery to do that." Jazz looked skeptical about that, sure that if Danny were to go to that gallery that the Goth would turn him away, but then again at least it would show the raven haired heiress that Danny was aware of what he had done.

"That will have to wait another two days though as that gallery is only open on the weekend," she stated as she stood, her hand coming to rest on his shoulder. "That should give you plenty of time to figure out a plan of action to make her see that you two belong together, like everyone has been waiting for for a long time." With that she left her brother alone to work on something for one of her classes, the dark haired male plopping down in the chair before the desk with a sigh. Now that he knew where to find her, well, save for where she lived, he just had to figure out how to get her to listen to him.


	5. Chapter 5

The two days went by pretty quickly for the Gothic woman, her and Dan walking up to the gallery just minutes before it was to open. Dan had been curious about the painting she had done of him, the raven haired female keeping it hidden with the promise that he would get to see it that night. She had finished it just a day before and had completed a couple more in the the last day before the gallery reopened, those of Ember and Skulker. While he had been curious as to why she had painted those two Sam had only chuckled, claiming that she had several drawings from the past of all the ghosts they had fought over the years. She also had photos that she used as models for her artwork. She had looked at their adventures as a source of inspiration for most of her art, whether it was painted as the models appeared or even with a few inspired tweaks.

"There are a few that have been in the gallery storage for a few months. I sent them to Marie a while back after completing them." At his raised brow she clarified, "There were too many to haul on this trip so after talking to her about the job earlier this year she sent a truck to pick them up." Unlocking the door the pair entered the large space. As Sam locked the door behind them, about twenty minutes left until the gallery opened, she took him back into the far end of the gallery where two doors stood alone. Smiling she pulled out another key and opening one of the doors led the halfa into the dark space. With a flick of a switch the room was bathed in light. Dan's mouth fell open at the paintings laying on top of each other against the back wall while some were hung on the wall. There were paintings of Clockwork in the tower that housed the ghost of time. Next to him was a painting of Klemper, his form standing on a lone rock as he cried with ice balls in his hands. He moved closer and moving the first picture found a painting of Nocturn, the shadowy form of him complete with his starry body as he flew over the town of Amity. While Dan hadn't met all of the ghosts the way his younger half had, he had seen them in the Ghost Zone while he had been intent on destroying all around him for the Goth's death.

"Wow, you really did them justice, though they don't deserve it," the older halfa muttered before turning to her. She shook her head at his words.

"No, but then again they did do something totally unselfish for us," she pointed out. "Though it also benefited them in the end as well. Not all ghosts are bad either." He thought about that and she was right. While some of the ghosts they had battled had been out for blood, like Skulker wanting his head mounted on his wall, there had been others like the Box Ghost who had just been annoying. Turning back to the painting he moved another over to find his eyes growing wide at the image before him. She stepped closer at his strange look to find him looking at her with Undergrowth. She was in her evil form, the vines clinging to her body holding her off the ground, as the large plant that had claimed her as his daughter, looked down behind her with an evil smirk. "Oh, that is Undergrowth," she murmured in shame. "I'm not always at my best either. I allowed him to control me when I knew it was wrong."

"I doubt that you intended to harm anyone though," he said turning toward her. "What's the story on that though?" He pointed to her in the front of the overgrown plant that had taken her over. She thought about it for a second, the thought of the less than proud moment something she never wanted to relive, but Dan hadn't been there for that one so she decided that she would tell him a shortened version of that moment in their life.

"Well, I was feeling rather upset about all the destruction that was being done to the plant life," she stated with a sigh. "It's wrong that we can't have more green life in our life and well, that's how it started. Vlad was mayor at that time and he was pushing to bulldoze quite a bit of the more natural parts of our city for what Danny called "progressive living" while Tucker was, as he always is, all about having more technology and stuff around." Dan sighed at that. Tucker had been a good friend, at times, but other times he just didn't think his thoughts thru. "We were walking by one of Vlad's new developments when Undergrowth appeared before us and he was pissed off. Never saw him before that, but then again you know we always seemed to make new ghostly enemies."

"More enemies than friends," the halfa stated as the pair headed back out of the small space, only a ten more minutes left until they opened the gallery. "He was upset about the destruction of the plants, I assume?" She nodded.

"He called the plant life his children and while destroying several machines doing the damage claimed that he would use the lives of all humans to bring forth more of his children," she recalled as she locked the door back before turning to him. "While I tried to talk him down, even though he was right about a few things, he attacked us and with Danny having some issues with his body..."

"What do you mean issues?" Though he was concerned with what she meant by that wording, he also wasn't sure that he wanted to know if it was a personal thing. Sure, he was the halfa, partly, but he didn't want to think about something that might be a little too much information.

"His temperature was off. Danny was suddenly too cold and while at first it didn't seem to affect him as he attacked Undergrowth, it caused him to stall at the wrong moment and we were all captured." Too cold? Was it because of his ghost half? It always seemed to cause chills to break out on his body whenever he had transformed, but as he was just a ghost now that was no longer an issue. "I don't recall much after he captured us, but from what Danny said Undergrowth took over the city and made all the people of Amity his slaves. He made them destroy the town while his plants took over."

"Where were you?" Dan asked in concern. She blushed, though it was in shame at where she had been.

"I was under his control, forcing Tucker under the same control and..." she faded off as she turned from him. "Trying to kill Danny." The older halfa's eyes grew wide at her words, the thought that she would try to hurt the one person she had considered a true friend and the one she loved. "I wasn't strong enough to fight back, not like when you escaped Freakshow's mind control." He frowned, but still turned her toward him and into his arms as he hugged her.

"It was because of you that I was able to regain my freedom, the will that had been taken from me," he said. He pulled back for a moment. "There's nothing to be ashamed about. You're human and while you are the strongest one I know, anyone can fall into the control of another person."

"There was a moment of clarity, when Danny promised that he would save me from my fate, but it didn't last long. I hunted Danny down like Skulker and the other ghosts, but not to kill him. I wanted him to rule by my side... under the control of Undergrowth, but still." Looking at the clock she promised to tell him the rest of it as she unlocked the doors and several of their clients walked in with other random patrons joining the masses. "Right now we have a job to do." Dan nodded and then noticed that Sam was looking a little nervous.

"What's wrong?" It seemed like she didn't know how to put into words what was making her feel on edge, but he had seen her worry just days before when Jazz had found out about him and her together. He knew what was bothering her even if she didn't want to voice it. "It's the brat, right?" She nodded.

"I'm not ready to talk to him, hell, I don't know if I will ever be ready to talk to him." She looked over her shoulder, to the streets that were rather empty, save for a few people that walked by.

"One day you will have to talk to him, not that I will force you, but until that time comes I will ensure that he gives you the space you need to think," the older halfa promised as he pulled her to his side and the pair walked off to mingle with the people in the gallery, on painting on the wall still covered in a sheet. "When are you going to unveil that?" he inquired while pointing to the uncovered artwork. Releasing him she walked over to the painting, her fingers grasping the sheet and yanking. Dan's eyes grew wide at the picture of him. He was in a dark room, a single window behind him with the night sky as the backdrop. He was in his human form, though his hair dark, was wispy like his ghost form. He was laying on a bed, the deep green sheets covering his crotch as he looked forward with his glowing green eyes. In the skies behind him you could see what appeared to be a shooting star, but the way it moved appeared more like a ghost. He smirked. She had portrayed his ghost half while keeping him human, the ghost shooting around in the background adding to the ghostly nature of the male looking back at them.

"Wow," a female patron said, her eyes growing huge while others joined in with praises for the revealed painting.

"I love how his eyes seem to glow," another woman stated as she stepped toward the painting with Sam still standing beside it. "How much?" Sam looked to Dan, a question in her eyes, but he just shook his head.

"$5,000," she said as she turned to the woman who had inquired about the cost of the large painting. That same woman quickly produced a check while another patron squawked out that she wanted the painting, but the Goth shook her head. "First come first serve." The women in the crowd groaned, but again Sam turned to Dan. "If the model were to allow the artist to use him again, then I would ask her to create another, but as the model was rather irked to pose for the first one..." she faded off with a shrug. Several women begged for her to ask the artist about doing another and while she was being crowded, Dan turned as he felt a familiar chill. He found Danny there behind him, his own blue eyes wide at the work on the wall before him. There were emotions flickering in his blue depths, but Dan paid them no heed. He knew how the halfa felt about him and with this painting the halfa was hurt and angry.

"You need to leave, brat," he hissed. When Danny opened his mouth to argue the older male shook his head and not only repeated himself, but added the reason for this demand of the younger male. "You need to leave before you do more damage and she truly walks away." Shutting his mouth he glared at the evil half of himself, a future that would never happen. "I shall talk to you when the perfect time presents itself, now leave before she knows that you are here." This time the younger halfa complied, but not before shooting a look at the Goth nodding and conversing with the people making requests. After he had left Dan went to the raven haired woman's side, pushing a few people back with a warning.

An hour or so later found the Goth feeling worn out, her energy feeling depleted as she leaned on Dan with a yawn. Danny entered the space again, this time in Jazz's body as he skulked close the couple while at the same time keeping himself far enough away that Dan wouldn't sense him. He kept tabs on them and noted how tired the raven haired Goth appeared. Under her eyes were dark circles and it appeared that she had lost some weight. Was she really that upset to the point that it was dragging down her health. The older male asked her a question and she shook her head before informing the older male that she was just going to grab an energy drink from the small cooler under the podium where the checks were kept. He nodded at her and allowed the younger female to head off just as a male called him over.

Though he didn't really work at the establishment he saw what painting the male was standing before and so did Danny as he looked at the intricate painting of the Ghost Zone. There were hints of ghosts in the image, some peeking from the doors that littered the space inhabited by ghosts, while others were flying by. Walking over to the human male the halfa waited for the other male to ask him about the art on the wall. Though Danny wanted to go where Sam was he followed after Dan, wondering how the male would interact with a human. The older halfa had wanted to kill everyone at one point. Could he be civil with those that he had wanted to kill at one point?

"What is this one?" Dan looked at the title. "What is the Ghost Zone?"

"It's a place that is connected to this world, though no humans inhabit it... just ghosts are on that plain of existence." The man looked curious at that response. He had heard of such a place, but only after Danny Phantom had saved the world with the inhabitants of that place. There had been other news stories that had shown the Ghost Zone taking over the small place known as Amity Park. Dan wanted to sigh and tell the man to ask Sam, but knowing that she was tired he explained. "The Ghost Zone is filled with ghosts, lives that are stuck in that place because of their obsessions." Noticing that a pick of Ember was off to the side of the artwork portraying the Ghost Zone he pointed to it. "Take this one." The male turned his attention to the teal haired female, her guitar positioned in her hands as she went to strike a cord. The younger halfa almost turned away until the older halfa began to talk about something Danny hadn't been aware of... Ember's past and her obsession. It was a similar obsession he had had so long ago.

"Her name is Ember McLain, a girl that had just been a teen on the outside looking in. She was alive in the 1980's but died before reaching adulthood. She longed for the love of another teen, a boy that was part of the popular crowd." The male before him moved closer to the picture of the small female, her attire one of a rock star. "She wanted to be a rock star when she grew up and put that idea on hold when that same male tricked her, bringing her into the fold on a prank. He was just using her to prove that he could be hard. His friends, the popular kids, were on board until it went to far..." he faded off.

"What happened?" the male asked, intrigued with the story behind the lone female. Danny found himself interested too. He had never known her backstory. He didn't really know any of their backstories, but that begged the question of how Dan knew.

"She was asked out on a date by this guy and when he showed up with his little group to egg the dressed up rocker, she was humiliated. She broke. She was famous, but for the wrong reason and the love she had thought he had for her was a lie. It was one blow after another." He smirked now, his smirk a sad one. He had found out about her past after spending time out of the thermos. He had spent most of his time in front of the glass that could show the future to the viewer... or the past. "She got him back, humiliating him in front of his friends and in retaliation he burnt her house down."

"That's such a sad fate for one who looks like she could have had it all had it not been for the cruelty of one person," the male whispered. "And she is in the Ghost Zone?" Dan nodded.

"She's stuck there, her obsession to be a world renowned rock star all she has, that an her hate for authority." Sam walked over to them as the story ended, a Bang energy drink in hand. She looked a bit more alert, but the older halfa could see that she was still tired. He wanted to force her to rest, to shut down the gallery, but he knew that she wouldn't take his demands well. Sam was her own person and even if he was her friend, she wouldn't do as he asked. Hell, the woman beside him had tried to go to school with a high fever, claiming that no one was going to keep her home.

"I would like to purchase both of them," the male said as he wrote a check, Sam taking it with a smile. After the man left with his purchases Sam came back to Dan's side, her smile still on her face. Danny watched the pair.

"How did you know that?" she inquired. As Dan explained that while in the tower he had been left alone when the ghost of time had been off with the Observants. During that time he had used the glass that had shown them Danny's future to look back on past lives. He had been curious about the obsessions that had held the other ghosts to the Zone. "Really? Wow, never would have thought to use it for that, though I did find out about how Sydney died. They all seem to have such sad lives that hold them in the Zone." She wondered if Dan was in that same place, his obsession keeping him alive, but if that were the case then what was his obsession? He no longer wanted to kill them so what new obsession did he hold now?

"Do not worry about it, Sam," the halfa stated as he pulled her to her side. She frowned, but did he as he said, shoving the thought in the back of her mind. "We still have another six hours before we can close so you should drink the rest of that drink." She could hear the threat in his words, his tone letting her know that he would do whatever he needed to ensure that she wasn't wearing herself thin. Her health was more important to him than her job.

"Okay, jeez," the Goth said, but still complied as she guzzled some of the cotton candy flavored liquid. "I swear that you are acting like Danny." He just chuckled.

"Don't know if that is a compliment or an insult," the older male stated, unaware that the male in question was making a face at their conversation. He could recall that the Goth had pointed out that Dan was Danny, even if part of him was the ghost half of Vlad. She had found that the male that had tried to kill them acted more like the younger halfa than of the evil male that had fought him. "So, to pass the time you want to fill me in on more of what happened with Undergrowth?" That seemed to surprise the younger male inhabiting his sister's body. He was surprised that they hadn't said anything about the resident genius, though it seemed that they hadn't even noticed that she was there, their eyes only on each other. That hurt to think that she was so drawn to his older, evil half that she failed to notice that the red head standing there listening to them talk. Even with those feelings running thru his brain, clenching his heart, he found that he wanted to know what had brought about a conversation about the male that had controlled the Goth when she had been younger.

"So, where was I on that?"

"That you had a moment of clarity when the brat," at her look he corrected himself, "Danny promised to save you."

"So, like I said, I hadn't wanted to kill him, not really. I wanted him to rule by my side, but Danny escaped to the Ghost Zone, his face turning blue and his body shivering. While I couldn't go into the Zone with the vines attached to me I didn't want to leave that spot. I don't know why, but I wanted to be there when he came out. Maybe it was because of Undergrowth or maybe I just wanted to wait for him to return to my side..." she faded off with a shake of her head. "Danny told me that Frostbite told him of Undergrowth and how fatal the creature was as well as why he was so cold." She chuckled now. "Seems he scared the Far Frozen with his powers and how little he could control him, but that's to be expected with learning something new." Her smile died as she looked ashamed again. "I was going to use the townspeople, our friends, and family and sacrifice them to the plants. I was going to kill everyone just because I wasn't strong enough to fight against Undergrowth."

Danny was surprised at her confession, the fact that she felt weak. "Sam, I doubt that anyone, not even Danny, sees you as weak or even blames you for what happened." She shook her head.

"I blame myself. I shouldn't have been so easily lost to his control." She had felt like that evil was apart of her, like she had liked taking out her frustrations on the people who had hurt her or Danny in the past. "I never even apologi-" He kissed her on her head, cutting her off as he pulled her into his chest again, one hand on her waist while the other rubbed her back.

"You don't have to apologize for something like that and I think that he would agree." Dan was right. Danny had never held her responsible for what had gone down that day and she had been the same way when he had been under Freakshow's control. She had known he hadn't wanted to do what he had done. He would never willingly put them in danger. She had been controlled, forced to do what the oversized plant ghost had wanted her to do. Before she could say anything else to argue with him about that point the large male pulled back for a second as he kissed her again, this time on the lips. As they pulled back from the lip lock Sam thanked him again for listening to her shameful tale. "Have you told him about how you feel? About that day?" Sam shook her head.

"I was ashamed at how I had acted. I could have killed him and while right now I need space from him to figure out my life, I will always care about him."

"Sam, you love him. Just admit it." Sam blushed, but before she could respond another patron came over with questions about another art piece. Danny took that moment to leave the pair. He had so much going thru his mind that he needed time to process it... that and the fact that Jazz was right. The pair were a couple. They were kissing like lovers and broadcasting their affections in front of others. Once he was outside the gallery he removed himself from Jazz so he could stand before her. She blinked, her mind a daze as she had lost several minutes of memory, the time spent in the gallery a blur.

"What happened?" the red head asked, her hand coming to touch her temple.

"They are together," the halfa stated. "I don't know if she will willingly come back to me..." he faded off, his heart growing heavy at the thought that he had already lost his chance with the Goth. Jazz shook her head.

"No, it's like I told you, Danny. Dan is just a replacement and even he said they couldn't be together forever." She leaned back a bit to take in his defeated expression and the slump of his posture. The halfa before her was depressed. She reached out to touch his shoulder. "Trust me Danny. I can see this from the outside and I can tell that while she is spending time with him that she really wants you. She may have affection for Dan, but her heart is yours... You just have to be willing to reach out and take it, even knowing that she has been with Dan." His eyes flashed green at that. He didn't care that she had been with the older male... did he? Sure, it made him upset that she would lay with his enemy, the same one that had tried to kill her, Tucker and his family, but did he care about that when it came down to the fact that he loved her and wanted her by his side? He could feel a headache coming, the throbbing of his head growing stronger as he continued to dwell on what he had seen and what his sister was saying. "Speaking of Dan, what did he say to you when you went in the first time?"

"He said that me being there would push her away for good," the halfa stated, finding the thought that he could lose her because of his own actions heartbreaking. He had never wanted to push his friend away, but he had when after making love with her he had spoken without thinking and now knowing that she wanted to stay away from him to figure out her life... Well, that was one future he didn't even want to contemplate. She belonged at his side, the other half of his soul and the holder of his heart. He didn't know what he would do if she truly gave up on him. Then he recalled the other male had said. "He also said that he would come and talk to me when he could." Jazz raised a brow at this. The older halfa would come and talk to Danny? Was he going to spill the beans about what was going on to the younger male after telling her that it wasn't really any of her concern what the Goth did?

"That's weird after what he said to me," the red head stated, irked that she was being left out of the picture, but then Danny made a point.

"I think he is helping me since it concerns me and Sam and our unresolved feelings. You don't really fit in to the picture since it has nothing to do with you." She blinked. He was correct about that, but she had a feeling that it also was because the older male felt remorse that while he had lost his chance forever that Sam still had her love with her. Like everyone else, he could see that the pair belonged together even if it never seemed to work out for them. This was their last chance to come together with all of it exposed. Now the question was when would that chance come for the older male to impart his information to Danny? How long would it take for him to get that chance?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It took a few weeks before something came up that had the older male worried enough that he thought about going to Danny with what he knew. Sam groaned as she rolled over, her stomach rolling with her and not in a good way as her face turned pale, sweat glistening on her face. Dan awoke with a stretch, but seeing her face he was immediately up. Touching her slick forehead he found that she had no fever and her skin was clammy. "What's wrong?" he asked. She shook her head as she didn't know why she was feeling so strange. Her stomach was mad at her, the offended organ clenching as she turned green. The small woman struggled to get up, her body refusing to listen to her while the sheets around her seemed to tighten. The feeling of being weak wasn't a feeling she liked and while being sick was another thing that she abhorred she found herself crying as she struggled to get out of bed. The halfa sensed her frustration and the look on her face worried him so reaching out he pulled her into his arms before rushing her off to the bathroom where she slipped out of his arms to lean over the toilet. As soon as she was over the porcelain pot her body gave one final heave, the contents of her stomach expelled from her body.

She sat like that, her body removing whatever was making her sick as the male at her side held back her hair. The locks were wet, the raven strands sticking to his own skin. She finally fell back on her ass, her body sagging in relief of ridding her form of the tainted item. She wished she knew what it was, but as she had been sick before she wondered if it was a bug giving her the morning from hell. Dan moved to run a bath, the small Goth finding her body shaking as a chill came over her. The heat from the bath made her pale flesh break out in goosebumps but once the tub was full the older male removed her clothing with a quick flash of intangibility before placing her in the warm water. She sighed as she allowed herself to sink into the water, the halfa walking off only to return a few moments later with a glass of water. "You okay?"

"I think I might have eaten something that made my stomach mad or maybe I'm getting sick," she said before taking the offered water filled cup. It was possible that she was right, but it was also possible with her emotions running amok over the situation with Danny, the stress of his sister showing up and her new job that the small woman was creating the havoc herself. He didn't express his concerns as he took the empty glass back. It was Wednesday and while it would be another few days before she had to go to work the halfa wondered if he could convince her to call in sick. "I will be fine. You know that I don't get sick very often," she stated as if she had read his mind. "And even if I am still feeling a bit under the weather by Friday that I can't just call in. Marie will be entering her third trimester soon and needs me to run the gallery." He scowled at her, obviously displeased with her decision.

"Sam, I will make you stay home," he growled. She frowned back at him.

"Dan, I can take care of myself," she stated, her voice holding a note of anger. "While I appreciate your concern you know that I am not a child. I will be fine." When he didn't respond, his scowl still in place, she sighed. "I will make a compromise." He waited for her to tell him what this compromise was, all the while knowing he wasn't going to be happy with it. "If I am still sick by Monday, and I am not breaking my commitment to Marie no matter what, then I will go to the doctor." He stood there, silent as he thought about what she was offering before grunting at her and leaving her in the bath alone. She hated that she felt sick, but even as a teen she hadn't allowed being sick to get in her way. She had wanted to keep her grades up as well as going to school gave her space from her overbearing parents. Relaxing she closed her eyes and let the warm water sooth her. She would be fine.


	6. Chapter 6

Strangely she was fine the next day and by the time that Friday rolled around she seemed rather wired, like she was hooked up to caffeine. It was a strange about face for how she had looked just the other day and the halfa found it to be strange. Not that you couldn't get a 24 hour bug, but the fact that she had been sluggish before that day and while she got hours of sleep that she had always been groggy for the last several weeks. What had changed? Sam moved around the gallery, two men at her side with some of the other paintings in the locked closet. He walked over to see what they were and shuddered at the male looking back at him. Before him stood Walker, the Warden of the only prison in the ghost zone.

The male had been just as bad as Skulker, though the warden hadn't wanted his head on a wall. The only difference between the two. The male had done many things to bring him back to the cell he had long escaped. Moving to the other one that had been placed on the walls, he found himself before a rather large male, his body towering over him with what appeared to be a cyclone like body with armor on his upper body. He was green skinned with red eyes and what appeared as two lightning bolts on his head, completing his appearance. He raised a brow at her. Turning from the stand where the checks were kept found the woman with another energy drink in hand.

"Vortex," she said. She could feel the change in her body, the lightness of her mood and while she was still mildly upset about what had happened with the younger halfa, she was feeling better. It was as if happiness were being seeped into her blood, the feeling strange in some unknown way. "He was a weather ghost that Vlad freed. He is like me, an artist, but he's rather egotistical and can be enraged rather quickly when he feels that he has been wronged or even spiteful for no reason."

"I assume that Vlad fucked up rather bad," Dan stated. He liked these days with Sam. He found himself almost living as he would have had his Sam not died. He learned what ghosts he would have fought and his powers would have expanded, but at he was not that guy anymore so his powers would never expand into something more. Hell, he didn't even have the ice powers that this halfa had. It almost made him angry to think that while in his timeline he had really fucked himself up for something so small.

"You are entitled to make mistakes," Sam murmured as she leaned against him. "We all do. You were a teen that had too much on his plate." He sighed. It was an excuse, but at the same time he knew she was right. "You were figuring things out as just a human and because of what happened, again sorry, and then you were trying to figure out your new side while being forced into the role of hero."

"I told you that I'm not sorry. It sucked but if given the chance to do it again, and I did, I would do it for a third time." She smiled at him as her watch went off. Kissing his arm she rushed off to open the door for the people waiting outside. He would miss her when he had to go, but he knew that Danny would be there to make it right, because while he was jealous of the pair he knew that he couldn't live in this timeline and that the only reason he was even still alive, without a timeline to return to, was because of the Tower, Clockwork's Tower, was suspended in time as well. He didn't know how much time he had before he would fade away, but he wanted to help the Goth. Watching her as she conversed with a young woman who was looking at the painting of Walker with an excited face. Walking over he wondered what he would tell the younger halfa when he had a moment to leave her side.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Another week passed without incident save for a few more instances of queasiness for the Goth, but they were just random and at odd times of the day. It had only happened twice that week, but by the next day she would be fine, if not a little more energetic. That next Monday found the older halfa taking Sam to the doctor, the small woman held tightly in his arms as he headed for the car just outside the house.

"I do not need to go to the doctor, Dan!" she spat, his next words making her freeze.

"If you don't I will fly you there." She looked up at him, the expression on his face forcing her to realize that he would do it. He would use his powers and while that shouldn't bother her now that Jazz knew he was here and so did Danny as there was no way that the red headed female wouldn't tell the halfa what was going on because of Dan being there, that it would shorten her time with him, that bothered her. Muttering a 'fine' under her breath she crawled out of his grasp with a frown. A few minutes later found them at the doctor's office, the Goth stomping up to the entrance without waiting for the large male. Dan just shook his head and followed her into the cool building, the small female sitting in a chair. Again he shook his head, her childishness so cute. Getting the forms from the woman behind the counter the halfa walked over to where she was and with a simple 'write' handed the clipboard to her.

Sam said nothing as she begin to fill out the sheet with all her information while Dan just stood there waiting. There were a few people in the waiting room with her, but none of them seemed to paid any heed to the couple with the raven haired woman scowling while the dark haired male just smirked before her. When she was done the large male took it over to the receptionist before heading back to where the Goth sat. He wasn't going to try and convince her he was doing the right thing as she was obviously sick or something, no, he would rather let her stew.

"I don't know why you're so worried about a little sickness," she muttered. Sure, she wasn't one to get sick often, but she wasn't feeling to bad, save for the days with vomiting, but other than that she was fine. "Maybe I need to start taking vitamins since this environment is so different than Amity." Dan said nothing, a nurse taking that chance as she called out Sam's name. Standing up he walked behind her, ready to go back with her when the nurse said that it was just to take her weight and height, just little things that would take no more than five minutes. Nodding he went back to his seat as Sam disappeared into the next room. Pulling out a phone he called the halfa, intent on letting the other male what was going on. It took a few rings before the other male answered.

"So, Sam is seeing a doctor right now," he said, his voice low just incase Sam came back out sooner. At the question from the other end he stated, "She's been vomiting, well, three times she's vomited in the span of one week. I don't have time to go into too much detail, but I just thought I should let you know. Until I figure out what is ailing her you are to stay put." Danny wanted to argue, Dan could feel it, but the halfa surprised him and agreeing hung up the phone. That had been strange. He had been sure that the younger male would argue the fact that he needed to see Sam after the older halfa's warning, but no, the halfa had gone silent and then had agreed with him?! He would never go behind Sam's back to the younger halfa, but he felt that something was off with her on and off again sickness. Food poisoning could cause this, but so could a slew of other things, but the Goth never had a fever and while she did have body aches on those days that she became sick, it was gone the next day with the sickness itself.

Minutes later the raven haired woman returned, still angry at the male before her and not saying a word to him as she plopped down. "Everything good so far?" A grunt was his response. "Come on, Sam, give me the benefit of the doubt here. You have never been sick like this before, right?" Another grunt as she pouted. He hated to go down this route, but with how she was acting he decided to throw the one in her face that she was still upset about. "What about that one time?" Nothing this time, save for an intake of air, her body tensing up at his words. He didn't even have to clarify for her what time he was talking about. She knew. "Though I don't know the brat as well as you do," he said with a smirk before continuing, "He does have a rather whorish girlfriend, right?" She blanched at what he was implying. Could Danny have given her an STD without even realizing it, but then again the halfa had never seemed unhealthy.

"..." Sam hadn't even thought of that, but then again she did trust the halfa... well, had trusted him, but while he had done so many things in the past to hurt her, she had found her faith unwavering until that day when he had broken her heart completely. She wasn't even sure there was a way to put it together. While she loved the male beside her, it wasn't the same love that she felt for her halfa, but he wasn't hers. He was the Latina's boyfriend, had had his heart for so long that Sam would never be able to claim it for her own. She didn't know if she could trust him again.

"I'm not saying he does, but just pointing out who he is with and how she was in high school..." he faded off to let her put the pieces together. She looked to him, her amethyst orbs filled with worry now and while he did feel terrible for having to cause her such pain, he was just stating the facts. He knew a bit about STD's from the health class that they had been forced to endure when first entering high school. She should have already gone and gotten tested. Hell, had they even used a con- Oh, he wasn't going there! He didn't want to ask such a personal question and this one, while a good question, wasn't one that he felt she needed to hear aired. They sat there in silence, Sam leaning her head on his shoulder as she worried about this new bit of information that she hadn't even questioned.

"Samantha Manson," a female nurse called as she stepped out from the back. Getting up Sam clung to his hand, her own now wet with fear, as the pair headed back with the blond haired female. As they entered the small room the woman handed the Goth a gown with instructions to put it on and that once she was done the nurse would be back to assist her. The raven haired female stepped behind a curtain, Dan sitting on a chair against the wall next to the closed door. Neither said a word as she changed and sat down on the examination table after pulling the curtain back. The older halfa watched her for a moment, noting the concern in her eyes and the tension that came off of her small frame. When the nurse came back she had a few needles as well as a cup to pee in. Sam blushed as she took the clear container from the blond before sitting still while that same woman took her blood.

Sam didn't feel any of it, didn't even think as her mind whirled with all the possibilities that could be making her sick. Could she just have a bug or was it an STD? "We'll rush this off so by the end of this visit you should have answers to why you have been feeling the way you have," the blond nurse said before heading off with the blood with a promise to be back for the cup. Sam walked over to the bathroom that was next to her room, her eyes dazed as she entered the small space. She didn't even recall peeing in the cup as fear took hold of her. What would happen if one of those tests came back positive?! How much would her life change? Walking back into her room she placed the cup on the counter and crawled back up on the table.

"I don't know what to say," Sam muttered. "That should have been my first thought knowing that he was with Paulina, but I never even considered it." Dan came to stand beside her, his hand falling on her back before he began to rub circles on it.

"You were upset given what happened," he said, though he added silently 'though you didn't tell me all of it'. "He made a move on you and after it was done to react that way was a mistake and while you know that it still hurt." She nodded, though he could see it in her eyes, the fear of what the tests would show. That's when the doctor came in, an older woman, her white hair tied back as she introduced herself.

"Hi, Miss Manson," she said as she held out her hand for the woman before her to take. At first Sam didn't seem to see it, but when Dan spoke her name softly she blinked and shook the older woman's hand. "My name is Dr. Vega." She looked to Dan and asking him to sit for a moment then turned back to Sam, her instructions to the small woman were about how she was to lay back so they could do a pelvic swab. As Sam lay there, her eyes closed, the female doctor went to work. It was uncomfortable and embarrassing, but the small Goth kept her mind on other things until it was done. "Done. You did a good job, Miss Manson." Standing up and removing her gloves while Sam got comfortable, her body slightly pained at the procedure. "We should have your tests in the next few minutes for the blood work, but the other test will take another thirty minutes. Do you want to wait or shall we call you?"

Sam didn't want to wait, but she really needed to hear those results. "We'll wait," was her response. The doctor left and right after she left the nurse came in with paperwork, Sam grasping it in her hands as the nurse spoke about payments and the like, but the raven haired female was stressing again, the thought of her being stuck with something that would change her life running thru her head. Dan stood, moving to again rub her back to try and get that look out of her eyes. After the nurse left the pair just stayed like that, both wondering what the test would reveal. The older halfa wasn't sick like Sam and that made him wonder if she really had anything to worry about.

Not even thirty minutes passed when the doctor returned, a smile on her face as she stood before the pair. She rifled thru the paperwork again, her smile never faltering as she began to tell them what was making Sam so sick, "So, no STD's to be found." She wrote something down before handing the small raven haired girl a prescription. The Goth looked down at it in confusion. If she didn't have anything wh- "Congratulations, Miss Manson. You're going to be a mom." As she explained the prescription, prenatal pills, and all the other things that Sam would need to do in preparation for her bundle of joy that same Goth was staring wide eyed at the paper in her fingers, her body going cold as she sat there frozen.

Dan didn't know what to say, his own blue eyes wide as his jaw hit the floor. The woman was pregnant! "Um, are you sure?" Sam asked, her voice so soft, just barely a whisper. The older halfa nearly fell out at her question. This was a doctor you were asking that! The doctor still smiled at her and nodded.

"We run two different tests on the blood and urine to be sure." The Goth was opening and closing her mouth, but she couldn't seem to voice what she wanted so Dan thanked the doctor and taking her in his arms left the office. Sam just lay in his arms, her eyes sheened over with unshed tears as she continued to move her mouth. He would have to get her home and relaxed or he had a feeling that Sam would die because of all the overwhelming things that had happened in the last month. How could this get any worse?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Oh it could be worse because when Dan didn't call the younger halfa back several hours after the doctor appointment that same halfa called him, his gut rolling as he wondered what was wrong with Sam. He couldn't think of something that would cause you to be sick for several days like Dan had spoken of. Usually if you got sick enough to vomit it didn't skip days, no, you got it all out consecutively. As he waited for the older male to pick up the phone Danny paced the small living room of his sister's home. She was in class at that moment and while the halfa really wanted to go to Sam he waited... though not patiently. When he got the voicemail message of Dan's he growled, his fist closing around his phone so hard that the halfa nearly dropped it when he heard a 'crack'. Opening his hand before him found the phone's screen cracked, but the device was still working.

"Fucking hell," the halfa muttered. He was about to toss the phone in his frustration when the device began to ring. Clicking the 'answer' button found himself on the receiving end of curses. Holding his ear away from the phone he found the older halfa's voice echoing around him. When he had finally stopped cursing, which the younger male could not understand, Danny said, "Okay, slowly from the top." The air grew colder around Danny and the halfa found himself staring into the face of a rather pissed off Dan.

"I said," the older male stated, his voice calm and controlled, but the anger bled thru before his voice grew louder. "You fucking piece of man shit! How the fuck could you do that shit to the one person who cared about you?! Are you a fucking retard?! Not only did you fuck her in more ways than one, but to fucking think that you would leave her with something from that god damned day?!" The younger raven haired male blinked in confusion. "At least you didn't give her a fucking STD from that skanky ass bitch of a whore that you call a fucking girlfriend!" Now Danny was getting mad, his eyes turning to slits as green replaced the blue in his eyes.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!" he growled, though he didn't move as the eyes before him flashed red at his tone.

"Sam is fucking pregnant!" When it appeared that saying it once wasn't having the affect that the older male wanted he spat, "Sam is pregnant with your child! You fucking had unprotected sex with Sam and now she will be having a brat!" The male before him had already paled the first time, but with each sentence the large male watched the halfa's body shudder. It just made him even more angry. He shoved the other male into a wall and even then Danny didn't react. He sat in the wall, his butt hanging out the other side, which was okay since it wasn't an apartment, and stared at the ceiling. He was in shock and at the same time he felt joy, a strange feeling to be combined with shock.

"Sam's having my child?" he asked, his voice filled with incredulous at the thought. Just one time and they had gotten pregnant. A slow smile began to pull his lips upward and Dan blinked in shock. The halfa was happy about getting the Goth pregnant! What was wrong with this male?! He was dating a woman he didn't love like he did Sam and yet he was happy that he had gotten her pregnant! Grabbing the other male by the neck his eyes narrowed. The halfa in his hand looked down at him in surprise.

"You're fucking kidding me! You are dating th-"

"I broke up with her," he said, calmly looking down at his evil side. "I knew the moment that I kissed Sam that I didn't want anyone else." The halfa had left the bitch? When had that happened? Then it struck him when... When the halfa had known that Sam was in Dan's presence. Was the halfa only saying this because of him? Did he just not want Sam around him? Yeah, Danny didn't like him around Sam, but not just because of the whole killing thing. No, he was jealous of the other male being near Sam. He was possessive of the Goth, had always been against her dating, and that had only intensified the time she dated Gregor or Elliot. It had become apparent to him after a few months that he had wanted Sam for himself, but the thought of doing permanent harm to their relationship had stepped back. He dated to see if this apparent crush would lessen, but it hadn't and the moment he had found out that she was with another male, even if it was his evil half, he had known that he needed to claim her as his own. That love that had been in her eyes that day reflected back at him.

He could see her pleasure and the love in her expressive amethyst orbs. Then he could see it dull, the light going out of her eyes until the fire had entered them just before the punch to the face. He had killed that love, but he knew that he couldn't give up on her. She was the one that he wanted, the one that completed him on so many levels. Dan released him before taking a step back. Looking down at the younger male he said, "She's in shock right now, but I can tell you this. Sam will tell you that she is pregnant, though I don't know when. She would never leave you out of the loop, but know this, brat, if you cause her further hurt I will come back and kill you."

"Fuck off, Dan," the halfa spat, narrowing his eyes at the older male. "I don't answer to you." The older halfa knocked him to the ground before leaving. While Danny rubbed his eye, sure that it would be a black eye for a day or less and headed for the other room to do a little research about the raven haired woman's condition.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dan was sitting at the desk next to the bed, the small woman in it sleeping peacefully after all the drama of the day. He was glad as he knew that with her condition and the fact that this pregnancy was going to be a first with not only her but the fact that she was pregnant with a halfa's baby. How much would that affect the pregnancy. Sam rolled over, her shirt rising up and he stared at the small stomach, noticing for the first time that it seemed distended a bit. How had he not noticed that? Hell, how had she not noticed that?! He was so confused and then he thought back to the halfa who had impregnated her. He could see that the other male was serious about his love for the Goth, but he had failed too many times in the past with her heart and that was why she was here, hell, he had forgotten to tell the other male that Sam planned to spend two years here with plans to head back home in the end. With everything that had happened since her original plans he wasn't sure she wouldn't stay right where she was, but even then with Jazz being her she might run again.

There was just too much going on and in the middle of it all was Sam and Danny, the pair of them standing on the edges of the eye of the storm. Neither wanted to get close and while one was willing to make a move, would the other party allow them to make that move? Would the younger male feel like he needed to propose? That would be the worse thing he could do at this moment! Sam would push him away with the thought that he was doing it all out of responsibility. She would feel as if the breakup was her fault and while she played a role in it she hadn't caused it. He would have to allow her time to get over this new wrench in her life...

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Several weeks went by and while Sam was still coming to terms with the fact that she was pregnant with her best friend's baby, the halfa was having no such problem. While he had been shocked at first, the younger male was still in front of his sister's computer digging up more information and while he was frustrated that Dan wouldn't allow him the chance to get near the female who was carrying his child, he knew that with what Dan had said that Sam was in shock and would need him to give her space. It sucked, but he would do anything for her and at this point it was a time to let the fires die before you got burned.

Sam sat in the house, her belly still rather small, but the Goth stared at it, her hand coming out to rest on her firm stomach. She could feel the bulge of the unborn life, the child that had come from her one time with the man who held her heart. She felt so many things at that time. Anger, fear, worry, awe, and love. She loved this baby already, though it had taken a minute for her to wrap her head around the idea that she was going to be a mother. Dan had pointed out just a few days ago, after she had gotten past her shock, that she needed to tell the halfa of his child. While she had felt bereft at that moment, unsure if telling him about a child that he was sure to feel responsible for, she was not to the point where she wanted to tell him.

"You know that it's the right thing to do," Dan pointed out from his spot next to her. She was leaning against him, her hair fanning out over his arm. "And you know that he deserves to know about the fact that he is going to be a father." Her eyes closed, her hand still resting on her stomach, as her heart clenched. Yeah, he did deserve to know, but not yet. She might have to vacate her position at the gallery, though she didn't want to, so she could move before announcing that. She was sure that Jazz would tell her brother where she was and knowing Danny, he would rush over to ask her to marry him or he might disown the child, hell, he could come and ask her to terminate the pregnancy for all she knew. "You know he would love that baby, Sam. He would never ask you to get rid of it."

"Do I know that, though?" she asked, doubt in her mind and heart, the tone of it leaking into her speech. "I didn't think he would react the way he did after coming onto me, but here I am, pregnant after that very thing happened." She was made, her tone changing to a bitterness that he hadn't heard very often when she was talking about the halfa. She was upset with his lack of tact, his action after the act burned into her memory and taking the space where her heart had been. "I love him, don't get me wrong, but after letting him break my heart, I know that this child deserves to be surrounded by those who would not think it was a burden. People who would love it and while I love this child, I doubt that Danny would be happy to be forced into something that he doesn't want. He has what he wants."

"You could always tell him no," the older male pointed out. Yeah, she could do that, but would the halfa take that answer and let it be... No, she didn't think he would. He had been raised with good parents, absent minded role models, but role models nonetheless. His parents would want him to do the right thing, but she wouldn't agree which is why it was easier to run, to tell him after she was hidden again. "Would you really be that impersonal?" She looked up into his blue eyes and could see the truth. If this were his child, and he was Danny in a way, then he would be hurt that she hadn't told him in person. He would be angry that she had felt the conception of a baby were something impersonal between the two of them and while he could understand her feelings on the matter that it wasn't right for her to leave the other halfa just because she was scared. Sighing she nodded.

"I get where you are coming from," she muttered. "I will tell him when I see him." He knew what she was doing. She was still thinking about leaving, doing it the safest way for her. She was still afraid of the thought that the young halfa would hurt her again with his reaction to her being pregnant with his child. He smirked at her and pulling out his phone pushed a button, the sound of ringing filling the room.

Her eyes grew wide as she realized what he was doing, but before she could say a word he said, "She would like to talk to you." Hanging up the phone as the woman next to him began to fight he held her tight, both of them waiting for the appearance of one halfa.


	7. Chapter 7

Danny didn't waste any time appearing in the home after getting the directions from Dan's text to him while holding the Goth in his arms. That was the sight that greeted the younger halfa, his blue eyes widening as the raven haired woman attempted to extract herself from Dan's hold. "God damn it, Dan! Let me go!" She hadn't noticed him yet, but once her head turned from her attempt to square down with the older halfa she found her body frozen. The halfa was looking at her in surprise, but she could see the hurt in that blue gaze as well.

"Hey, Sam," the young male stated, his eyes dropping to look at her stomach and that's when the Goth realized that Danny knew she was pregnant. Dan could feel the rage from the small woman in his arms, her body shaking slightly as she began to fight him again, but this time she was more aggressive, her warning muttered under her breath.

"I'm warning you, Dan," she growled. "If you don't let me go right now, not only will I be latching my teeth into some part of your skin, but I will remove your manhood." Both males winced at her threat, but Dan refused to allow her to be free until she grumbled, "I won't run, not that I could anyway." Releasing her the small raven haired woman turned and punched him in the jaw before turning back to Danny with a scowl. The older halfa rubbed his chin as he smirked. The woman really thought she could hurt him, but truth be told that one had had a bit of a sting. "I don't even have to assume that you know about me being pregnant," she stated, shooting the older male a look. "I have to wonder why I keep on doing this shit."

"Sam," Danny said, his hands coming out to reach for her, the raven haired female taking a step to the side. His eyes widened slightly at her action, but he didn't try to reach for her again as she moved away from Dan as well. "We ne-" Her hand came up, the gesture meant to cut him off.

"We don't need to do anything," she said, her eyes flashing at him. "Just because I am carrying your child doesn't mean anything except that." Both males narrowed their eyes at her, the pair of them rather ticked off at her words, but for different and not so different reasons. The pair of halfas could agree on one thing at that point and that was the fact that the woman before them was distancing herself, making the relationship a detached version. "We can be civil about this," she said and while she wanted to sit down, she wanted him to understand that she was quite firm on how this was going down and there was no way for him to change it. "We will share custody." Danny nodded, though his eyes narrowed at the fact that she was shutting him out. "I don't need anything from you, not child support, nothing."

"Sam, I want more than just a chance to be in my child's life," he said.

"No, this is all that is on the table." Dan shook his head at that, but he knew that if the halfa before them pushed her too fast then she would fight even harder to distance herself. She would fight with the money that she hated, but she would do it to ensure that she was protected from what she saw as heartache right now. "As for now, well, I have promised to stay on with the job I have here for the next two years and that isn't changing." She could see it in his eyes. He couldn't stay here for two years, no, he needed to be back at Amity and while she knew that it was partially for his parents since he did the majority of ghost fighting for them, but it was because of one woman... He wouldn't leave Paulina just to stay here when she wasn't going to even let him around her after this. No, the next two years were for her to figure stuff out and him being here would make that a hard task. She would weaken and she couldn't do that. The young male surprised her though.

"I will have to head back home, but I will be back before the end of the month," he said, noting the surprise in her amethyst gaze before she shuttered them.

"Why would you need to come back that soon?" she asked, her brow raised. "The baby won't be born for another eight months." He smiled at her, the simple gesture causing her heart to pound, her blood calling out for that mouth to be against her body.

"So we can hang out and talk about this," was his response. She shook her head.

"I have other engagements during the week besides the gallery on the weekend. There wi-" Dan cut her off as he chuckled at her measure to keep the younger halfa on the sidelines. "And what is sooooo funny?" she hissed, her eyes flashing at him. Danny was curious too, having never seen the male before him laugh at anything save for killing them. He was still unsure about Dan, even with the male having helped him in this situation.

"What engagements do you have on the weekdays? I thought that whatever you were doing that first time, when we got here, was a one time thing." Now Danny was confused. What had she done when she first got here?

"That was just a starting point," she said. "Dean called and said that I will be-" She looked over at Danny and leaning over began to whisper in Dan's ear, "I will be having a few shows at least once every week." Pulling back, Danny noted that the older halfa looked surprised about whatever she had told him. He was not only feeling hurt that she would tell a secret to the other male, but anger surfaced with it at being left out of the loop when it came to the Goth. While she hadn't even allowed them into her home until the year they turned 14, she had not kept any secrets from him... well, until this year.

"Will you be able to do that long, hell, what about the gallery?" the older male inquired, both forgetting Danny was there for a minute, which didn't help how he was feeling at that moment. He had never thought he would be the third wheel when it came to Sam.

'Had you figured she would wait for you forever, never finding love herself?' his inner voice questioning his ideals. 'Did you think that while you and Tucker had partners that she would just stay single?' Had he really been thinking that she would never find someone and that she would be with him forever? He was only adding more questions to the pile in his mind that were waiting to be answered.

"Well, with the gallery I will have to let Marie know about my pregnancy, but that should be fine. I still have another eight months to worry about that little detail and as for, well, my other engagement... well, I can do it up until the day I give birth so again, it will all work out just fine." Blinking she realized that the younger halfa was just standing there, listening to them talk as if he wasn't there. "Oh, I'll see you at the doctor appointment... if you want to go to it." The halfa opened his mouth and realizing that Dan was shaking his head, just closed his mouth and nodded. She was giving him something that she didn't have to do. He could only imagine how awkward this was going to be for the pair of them... For her especially. "Since you and Dan have decided to be phone buddies, then he can call you with that information whenever I schedule that one." With a quick exit she was gone, the pair of halfas staring at the door to her room. Dan sighed, his head falling back.

"Well, looks like I am stuck with you, brat," the older male said, his eyes closed to the world so he didn't see the look that the younger male threw him. "So, as you can see, she's in a mood and that means I get the couch." Danny's eyes flashed green at his words. They were sleeping in the same bed?! He didn't want to imagine that so with a mental shake he voiced the question about her other engagement. "I can't give you that information, but I can tell you that you will figure it out before she tells you... if you haven't yet." He sat back up, his eyes narrowed. "You really fucked her up."

"What do you mean by that?" Danny asked, his own eyes narrowed.

"I know that we are clueless like dad, but even you can't be that clueless. I got what happened," he stated. "And even with all that she left out of it, and I can tell, I know that you finally broke her or maybe pushed her close enough to the edge. You got my message, right?" The halfa nodded. "I wasn't just being dramatic, brat. Sam ran and she never runs. She fights and this time she didn't come to try and fix it with you." He glanced at the door. "She has hit that wall... has walked to close to the edge and is now just hanging on by the skin of her teeth." He looked back at Danny now, his eyes relaxed and open for the younger male to see the worry that reflected back at him. "She was really going to leave and never come back." Danny felt his heart break at the realization that had Dan not been with Sam he would have never found her. The halfa in front of him wanted the best for the friend that had stuck by them only to die before his eyes. He had never gotten his chance, like Jazz had told him, and he didn't want the Goth to be alone when her match was right before her eyes.

"Thanks," Danny said to the surprise of the older halfa and with a single wave the younger male was gone, leaving Dan to ponder why he was being thanked.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next day Sam called Marie to tell her of her own impending motherhood, the older woman happy for her and even offering to let her go after she had her own child. Sam would have none of it, claiming that she would have it all figured out before the birth of her child so she could finish her two year promise. The other woman was shocked that the Goth wouldn't take that option, that she would rather complete her commitment instead of staying home with her child. She told her the offer was open if she changed her mind. As for the rest of that day and those until Friday the Goth researched about having a baby, until the last night when Dan pointed out something that had never crossed her mind. "What if the baby is part ghost?"

"What?" she questioned, sure that she had misheard him. "Danny's a halfa so I doubt that would happen." He raised his brow at her answer. "I mean if anything the child might be a quarter ghost, but that would be a small percent chance of that happening."

"How would you know?" he inquired. She opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it, her finger going to her mouth. "All the halfas on this planet were either made that way thru an accident or cloned from the one that was. No one has given birth to a halfa's child." Oh, shit! She hadn't really thought of that either! She was having some massive brain farts lately. Hell, was the time of pregnancy the same... would the child go intangible in her belly?! Dan watched all the color drain from her face, her eyes growing wide as the image entered her mind. More followed of the baby making her invisible or intangible. And then she could see the baby a year old going thru the crib or blasting a hole in the wall.

"Oh...my...god!" She flew up from the chair, the computer shaking from the force. She flew at the male on her bed, Dan falling back as she cried out, "Dan! What if the baby falls thru my body?! What if they power up in my body?!" His brows rose at this. He hadn't thought of that part of being a possibility, but he could see the fear in her eyes as they glistened with tears.

"Okay, calm down first," the older male said as he pulled her into a hug. "It's not good for you or the baby, okay." She nodded against his chest. "You need to talk to Danny about these fears okay." She shook her head. "Sam, I am not going to be able to stay for two years and you need him anyway... he's your other half, not me." She sniffled, a curse about the hormones and the female pulled back, her head nodding just barely. "Good." She sighed and lay back down on him, her ear to his heart and she could hear it... even though he had claimed to not have that organ. It had been steady when she had first hugged him when this had all started and now it was slow and faint. He really wouldn't be here much longer and while she could allow him to leave she knew that with all that had happened, that he wouldn't leave until he was sure she didn't run. She would have too.

"I-I love you, Dan," she whispered, the unshed tears falling from her closed eyes.

"I love you to, Sam." Stroking her hair the pair fell asleep, both cherishing the short time they had together. While their love wasn't like the one she shared for her halfa and his wasn't the same as the one he had with his Sam, they both had connected on a different level. It had to be because the halfa was more mature at the older age or maybe it was because of the other ghost that made up his form.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next few weeks went on with Sam avoiding Danny while the older halfa pushed for her to give Danny a chance. Finally the Goth called him and asked if he wanted to come over, the younger male happy to hear from her, but upset that she had been avoiding him after their initial talk. He knew that he had fucked up, but when Dan had let him know just how badly he had fucked up, he knew that she was protecting herself and it was his fault. She was afraid of what he would do if she gave him the already broken heart, if he would shatter it completely.

Now he could see why Tucker and Star had been upset. He had done the unthinkable when it came to Sam... he had hurt her in such a way that she didn't trust him anymore. He had lost her trust. After years together, never a broken promise between them until his crush for Paulina and then he had done so much wrong. While he knew they were both to blame, he had been the one to initiate that day's events and even now he could hear those words in his head... His words that had been him making sure she really wanted to be with him...

"I know that this is wrong, but it feels right..."

"I want you so bad and yet, I know that I shouldn't..."

He hadn't meant it in the way it sounded, but now that he thought about it he had been telling her that he hadn't wanted her and that he did want her. How confusing must that have been for her to hear when he had found out that she had had a crush on him-no, not just a crush.

"I don't know if you knew it and I was sworn to secrecy, but Sam loved you."

Tucker had known, had been told by the Goth while he had been in the dark, but then again he should have seen it. They had both reacted every time they touched, had both been each other's dream during the fight with Nocturn... hell they had been each other's first kiss! Those kisses had left him short of breath and dazed, the same had been apparent when he had kissed her that one time. That's when he recalled the day he had had gone to battle Pariah. He had asked her if there had been anything the pair of them had wanted to say to him, the worry that he would die a real thought in all their minds. He had looked to Sam though, certain that she had been needing to tell him something, but the Goth had not spoken up. Had she been worried about their friendship too? Brushing the thoughts off he headed over to her place only to find that Sam was alone in the main room, their door closed.

"Hey," he said.

"Dan told me that I should share my feelings with you concerning the baby," she stated, moving to sit on the couch. The younger halfa joined her. "Especially as he won't be around much longer and he's fighting it now since he fears that I will run given the chance." She sighed. "I don't want to hurt anyone, not you and not him so I am willing to try and mend our friendship." He didn't just want her friendship though. Then it struck him that she had said 'concerning the baby'... was there something wrong with the baby?

"Is the baby okay?" he inquired and she could see the worry flicker thru his eyes.

"The baby is fine as far as I can tell," she said, touching the baby bump. Her stomach was now bigger now, almost the size of a woman at the end of her first trimester, or bigger. She smiled at her covered stomach. "It's hard to explain why I feel that way, but it's like I can feel them in there." Suddenly she blinked in surprise.

"Them?" Danny asked in confusion. "Are we having more than one baby?" She looked at him, her eyes full of confusion.

"I haven't gotten an ultrasound done yet," she murmured, her voice so soft. "I don't know why I said 'them'." Shaking her head she said, "Anyway, um, I have concerns about the fact that our child could be part ghost." That was her concern? He thought she liked his being a half ghost so why would being pregnant with one cause her concern? "I didn't think about it until Dan pointed out that I would be the first person pregnant by a halfa." He didn't want to tell her that he didn't understand, but he didn't want to set her off, but he noted that she was staring at him and that he was still sitting there in silence. "You don't understand," she said, aware that he was confused, his face frozen in that very emotion. "Your powers, in a baby, in my stomach."

"Oooooh," he said as he finally got what she was saying, his own face going pale like hers had upon the thoughts that entered his head and all of them matching her own fears. "Damn." She nodded. "My parents could always invent something."

"Danny, I love your parents, but half the time their inventions don't work." This was true, but he had been learning the trade so maybe he could do it. "And then we need to speak about what we can do for the first year."

"What about the first year?" he asked.

"Well, the first year I want to be there for my child, but I still have that year with the gallery so I was wondering if you would mind, well, no shared custody for the first year." That had not been what he had thought she was going to say! He found himself growing upset with her selfish question... not that he planned on her being a single mother either. He would marry her, he just had to find a way to convince her. He had to prove that he loved her and while it should be a simple thing to do he knew that she wouldn't just give in this time. She would make him fight to prove his friendship and he would be fighting for more than that. "Speaking of that, Danny, I don't want my child near her."

"Who?" Her eyes narrowed.

"Who do you think?" she asked, her tone hard. "Your girlfriend." He began to chuckle at her, the amethyst orbs watching him in disbelief. Did he think she was joking? "I mean it, Danny! I never want that b-woman near my child!" He began to laugh, trying to explain as she glared at him while waiting for him to stop. Finally the halfa stopped, wiping a tear from his eye as he stared at her with a goofy smile.

"I broke up with her." Sam's jaw dropped at what he was saying. "I realized that I didn't love her and that I loved you." The raven haired woman shook her head. He grabbed her hands, his face serious. "I love you, Sam. I made a mistake that day, but not because I slept with you." She pulled her hands free of his, the look on her face unreadable.

"Danny, I don't want to hear that."

"Sam, I me-" She stood up, her anxiety acting up as her emotions flared.

"No," she muttered. "I don't want to be your rebound again!" she spat, her eyes flashing in anger. "We did that already and look at how that turned out!" She took a step forward, her small finger poking him in the chest. "I don't regret the pregnancy, but I will not have my emotions played with and certainly not put a child in the middle of such a farce!" The door to her bedroom opened to reveal a very tired looking Dan, his color off. She hadn't noticed him yet, but Danny did as Sam continued to lay into him. "I don't want to get married to you because of the baby! After I have this child I will live with my child, I will raise my child, and I will love my child, but I will do it as a single mother!" The Goth jumped as Dan touched her shoulder and pushed her to the couch. Danny sat there watching as his older half glared at her, his words stern.

"First off, woman," he said, locking eyes with her. "You are working yourself up again and what did I tell you about that?" She muttered something and nodding the older male looked at him. "Do not get her worked up. It is bad for the child and her to be worked up like this." He turned back to Sam. "Second off, he told me that he broke up with her, but you didn't even let him explain. I told you that you need him and he needs you." He pushed her into Danny's lap with a frustrated growl. "You promised to compromise now do it." He sat there, waiting as the Goth pouted.

"How about I stay here for your last year and watch our child," the younger halfa suggested. Sam wanted to say 'no' to him, to push him away, but Dan was frowning at her, the look in his eyes murderous so she nodded.

"Fine. You can come over an-" Sam said, only to be cut off.

Dan shook his head, the pair of them looking confused until he stated, "You live together for the first year so that you get equal time with the child." Danny smiled, the idea perfect because it would also get him a chance to prove that he loved the small Gothic female, but the Gothic female shook her head. "Compromise, Sam." She pouted again, her curses about the two men enough to make a sailor blush. "Mood swings with you were bad enough, but when you are pregnant you are downright mean." The younger male chuckled. Yeah, he could see that.

"As tomorrow is Friday," the Goth said moving away from Danny, her heart beating a mile a minute at the extended contact with the man she loved. "I need to get sleep." As Danny was leaving he turned to see her assist the older halfa back to the bed, though he was complaining now about how he wasn't an invalid while she just shook her head. It made him sad to think that at one point they had been that close and now all it seemed she wanted to do was push him away. He left them alone, the older male getting onto her for acting as she had with Danny. "I told you before that I don't want him to marry because I was pregnant! That was the reason that I didn't want to tell him in person!"

"He's not marrying you because of the babies and you need to open your eyes up about that fact," Dan stated as she helped him into bed before going back to turn off the light. She crawled into bed with him and kissing him softly on the cheek closed her own eyes, hoping that he would leave it alone. "I'm not done with you," he muttered before yawning. "We will finish this conversation tomorrow." With those last words he was out like a light.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Danny sat in the room on the computer the next day, his parents on the screen before him. They were unhappy with him, the story about Sam having his child making his mother frown while his father winced, knowing that his wife was going to go off about the news around the conception of her first grandchild. "I can't believe you, Danny. We taught you better than that!"

"I didn't plan it," the halfa stated, shame in his tone. "I didn't just go up to her and-" He stopped, his words only going to make his mother more upset and not just at what he had done, but at how he responded regarding that day. "She thinks that I slept with her on the rebound and while I didn't do it for that reason-"

"You opened your mouth and inserted foot?" his mother questioned, her tone strict. "Had your head up your ass?"

"Mom, I feel bad enough!" Maddie didn't like the fact that he didn't understand it from Sam's side. Sure, she knew her son felt bad, but he had been hurting the small raven haired girl by having his head up his ass, and she had been quite upset when Jazz had contacted her with all that was going on, save for the part of Sam being pregnant. Danny had filled them in on that while made the whole situation even more chaotic.

"We know you feel bad," Jack stated. "But you are just feeling the the tip of what she is feeling. Her pain is the iceberg under the surface that you can't see." That surprised his wife and son with how insightful he was being. "You two have always been close, a strong connection formed quickly and while she might have just had a crush on you in the beginning, it became something more."

"She loved you and yet, you failed to see what all of us could see. Yes, she is just as blind or maybe she was afraid of what would happen if she shared those feelings. You were both just kids after all. And then you dated that one girl, Valerie and then Paulina, both part of the popular crowd." She paused for a moment. "She warned you about the first because of Valerie's hate for ghosts, but did she ever warn you away from Paulina?" The halfa shook his head. "That was her way of showing you love. She didn't want you to be with Paulina, but she loved you enough to allow you to be happy."

"She wasn't even particularly upset about you dating Paulina, though I know it hurt her..." Star had something about that too. Had everyone really felt that they belonged together? Had everyone really seen something when neither of them had been aware of it?

"Sam would do anything for you, son," Jack stated. "You know that since she was the one that stuck around until the very end when it had only been her on your side." Now his mother seemed to become quiet, the look on her face one of turmoil.

"Mom?" the red head blinked, her purple eyes full of whatever was bothering her. "You look like you've seen a murder." It was a joke, but when his mother spoke up he saw red.

"I just remembered something from when you all were younger," the woman said looking to her husband. "That time that Sam almost got hit by a car." She looked at Danny, his confusion evident.

"Yeah, she crossed the street without looking," the halfa stated. His mother shook her head.

"One of our neighbors mentioned something that just made me think of that time," she said. "She had seen Sam that day and a teen that matches Paulina's description had been talking to her... arguing about something." What? Was his mother about to say what he thought she was going to say? "Sam had sped up to get away from her when the girl had started shoving her. Sam was pushed into traffic just as a car was coming." Would Paulina go that far to get back at the Goth for her belittlement when they had been fourteen?

"So she accidently pushed Sam," the halfa pointed out, though in the back of his mind a voice was yelling out 'denying it doesn't make it go away'.

"No, they were sure that Paulina looked up as they got to the street, watching for cars when she shoved Sam." Danny's eyes flashed green. "She even said something to Sam when the car missed her, Sam still in the street." Danny recalled that that incident had happened just before the dance that year, the one that had happened a couple of years after the dance where both girls had been turned into a fire breathing dragon. It was the year that he had become Paulina's boyfriend. "Danny, think about all that she has gone thru and you will realize that while both of you are hurting, her hurt had longer to fester." With that they disconnected and he was left in the silent room to reflect on all his parents had told him. Little did he know that he was going to get a chance to rip his ex into pieces... and sooner than he thought.


	8. Chapter 8

Sam had had time to think about the fact that her child might have ghost powers and after setting up the appointment to see the doctor went to call Danny when a knock sounded at the door. She had wanted to call the halfa and check on the older one in her bed, but when the knock sounded again she heaved a sigh before heading to the door, unaware that Dan was awake in the bedroom. Opening the door she found the last person she wanted to deal with standing before her, a frown on their face when their eyes fell upon the pregnant belly of the Goth.

"So, you did go and get knocked up," the female stated, her teal eyes eyeing the proof of her impending motherhood. "And to think that Danny believed you were having his baby..." she faded off as she entered the room without consent from the raven haired woman before her. Sam frowned at her, ready to put the woman in her place when it occurred to her that the only way that the Latina could be aware of her location would be if someone had told her and with Danny and Dan being the only ones aware of where she lived, and Dan not being all that close to the woman who had tormented her... That just left Danny.

"So, you decided to come down here and check out the competition?" the Goth asked, her hand resting on her hip as she eyed the other female. "Well, I should let you know that there is nothing there for you to worry about. I told him that I am going to be a single mother raising my children." Dan stood behind the door listening to the two women talk, his eyes narrowing at the fact that Danny was going to be thrown off harder with this woman coming to interfere, but he couldn't figure out how she had found their residence, save for from Danny himself. That didn't make sense either because he had broken up with the female, but then who was to say that she hadn't contacted him and he had spilt it? He didn't know much about the relationship with the Latina and his younger self. They had been together for a while, even leaving Sam and Tucker on the outside with how much they had spent together. Could the halfa had revealed why he had left town? Did he break up with the Latina when he had found out that Sam was pregnant?

There was no telling since Danny had only said he had broken up with the former cheerleader, and not about when it had happened. "If that were true then why would you lure him here to begin with?" the Ice Queen asked, her brows knitted. "One moment he's fine and happy in our relationship and then suddenly he tells me to get lost!" Paulina's voice was rising, her anger flickering like a fire in her teal eyes. "I mean, I knew that you wanted him and all, but to lie about having his baby! That's real low!" Sam's own anger was rising, but she knew that if she let it go that the woman before her would win, so she forced herself to calm down. Not only would getting worked up be a point for the other woman, but Sam knew that it was bad for her and her unborn child.

"I never called him about the baby," she said, her words spoken soft enough to give the illusion of calmness. "I never called him at all, ready to start my own life away from Amity, at least for a few years, but then," she said, her hand coming to rest on her stomach. "The moment that conceived my baby happened." Her eyes flashed at the other woman, a chill coming over the room. "It was a mistake, something that I would never regret, but a mistake and even knowing that it would hurt I left never to return."

"You're such a liar! You couldn't bear that we were so happy that you ha-"

"I wasn't even going to tell him about him being a father!" the Goth spat, angry with having to deal with the Latina at all when she had left Amity to get away from her and her only love. "I was just going to raise my child alone! I had it all planned out the moment that-" she stopped, shaking her head as she realized that she was revealing too much to her enemy. "I already told him to leave me alone, and now to deal with you... I have had enough! Leave my fucking house!" Her voice echoed around the pair, but before Paulina could rant again, the Goth shoved her towards the open door as Dan appeared from the bedroom. The Latina's teal eyes widened at the appearance of the older male, her eyes flickering between the pair before she rushed off, a smirk on her face. She thought that she had new information to feed Danny, to ensure that he would come back to her, but going to him was the worst mistake she could make at this point.

As soon as she was gone the Goth slammed the door, her eyes glistening with unshed tears as her heart pounded loudly in her chest. "You know that he didn't tell her." She frowned at Dan, unaware of how much he had heard. "I don't know how she found you, but I know that he wouldn't do that." She said nothing, walking past him toward their room. The older halfa sighed, his body weary and still barely holding on. There was nothing more he could do, not to aid the halfa when everything was working against him. Sam had been pushing both of them away as soon as the younger male had come on the scene, but with the added "help" of the Latina he knew that unless Danny nipped it in the bud that Sam was going to run. She might not want to abandon her contract with Marie, but her other career choice was a more mobile adventure and would make it easy to disappear.

"Come on, Dan," she called from their room. "Stop worrying about it and just come lay down." He sighed again, upset with both parties, but also upset with the whole situation. This was not how it should have been! In his time he had been just as lost as the halfa was about his feelings for his friend, but he hadn't really progressed in a relationship with Paulina, the Latina being the last person on his mind when he was laying down on the ground as the Nasty Burger blew up. Sam had been his last thought as she had tried not to cry, something that she could control, but her words had stuck with him. Heading into the room he found her sitting on the edge of the large bed. He was almost gone, his body starting to fade with every second that passed, but getting up to stop the fight between the pair had taken out more than he had expected. Sitting on the bed he allowed the Goth to get him comfortable before she joined him, her small bump nestled between them as she spooned him. His eyes closed, her words almost the same as the Sam from his time. "I will always love you." He nodded as his blue eyes closed, his breathing already shaky becoming more faint.

Sam could feel him leaving her, his body growing colder than it usually was. "I love you too, Sam, and Danny does too." She shushed him, promising that she would do as he wanted as long as they just lay there quietly in what both knew was their last moments together. He could feel her body shake, silent tears falling down her cheeks as she shut her own eyes.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next day found the younger halfa looking down at his ex, the Latina so excited with what she wanted to share with him, but he wasn't open to listening as he glared at her. She had called him, and when he wanted to just click 'decline' on his phone, he had gotten a text from her about the fact that she was in California. That rattled him, but not because he was afraid of her, no, he was pissed off knowing that she had come here and he knew that it was for one reason and one reason only. Inviting her out to a small eatery next to his hotel, the halfa stood now, waiting for her to spit out what she wanted to say.

"Why are you here?" he asked, even though he knew the answer. "Besides st-"

"She told me about your relationship," the Latina stated with glee, something that rose a dark brow on the male before her. Paulina sat at the table in the courtyard in the back of the small restaurant, sure that she had just opened a present that would bring him back to her side.

"And?" He was curious to the fact that the Goth had even spoken to the former cheerleader, but then again he was curious about a few things concerning the woman before him. How had she found him? Hell, how had she found out where Sam was living when he hadn't even been able to find that out? While he was pissed off about it all, he needed to know what had transpired between the mother of his unborn child and the woman he had dated for far too long.

"She doesn't want you," the Ice Queen stated with a smile. "She has a man."

"Dan is his name and he's not her man," the halfa stated with a smirk as the woman before him frowned at his response. It hadn't been what she had wanted, no, he seemed okay with the male living in Sam's house.

"How do you know that the baby is yours?" she asked, acting as if she was more concerned with him being hooked by a lie then about the fact that she was worried about losing him. "Not that I believe that she is a wh-" The Latina was cut off by the low growl coming from the halfa before her.

"That is exactly what you are implying," he spat. "First off, you don't know shit about Sam and second, Sam and I slept together right before she left so that baby in her belly is my child!" She didn't even flinch at his words, her eyes becoming cold.

"Just because you slept with her doesn't mean you were her first or her last," the Latina stated. Danny blinked. He didn't know how to answer that since when they had been in Sex Ed. he had heard of there being a barrier that proved if a female was a virgin and while he didn't recall if he had felt one at that time... he couldn't see Sam as having been sexually active before their time. He had slept with Paulina and she had been experienced, not a thing that he had felt all that strongly about at the time, but for Sam she hadn't really known what to do... had been so timid. If he could compare it to his moments with Paulina one could tell that she had been new to the touches.

"I was her first and I will be her last!" he spat, angry with his ex's statement.

"You were the reason she wasn't coming back," Paulina said, hoping that if she said the words that the Goth had spoken to her, that she would turn him from the woman he was intent on. "She claimed that the moment she conceive that she wasn't coming back and that she was going to go it alone, never telling you about the child!" She watched him, her teal eyes watching the pain flicker in his blue eyes as he thought about the words she was telling him. "She said that it was a mistake and that it was the reason that she wasn't going to return to Amity. She didn't care enough to tell you about your child, but you can't seem to leave her alone!"

"Because I love her!" the halfa spat, his own emotions rising at the pain of knowing that Sam would have never called him, never told him of his child. He needed to talk to her, to clear the air all over again after what Paulina had done. Like Dan, he knew that with the appearance of the Latina that the Goth was going to be harder to woo, that Sam was going to fight him harder than before. "I don't want anyone but Sam and even if she wasn't pregnant with my child I still would have broken up with you to be with her!" Paulina's teal eyes flashed, her eyes narrowing at his confession. "I should have been with her instead of wasting my time with you!" He paused at that realization because he knew it was true. He should have not been dating the woman before him, the one that had only wanted his ghost half and until the moment it had been revealed that he was that ghost boy, had wanted nothing to do with him. Sam had been by his side, just like everyone was slamming upside his head now. Then he seemed to remember what his mother had told him, his eyes flashing green at the memory. "And you knew this! You knew that she loved me and you tried to take her out of the picture!"

The Latina seemed surprised at his accusation, but she didn't respond to it either. "You shoved her into the street, hoping that she would be hurt!" She smirked, her eyes twinkling even as she shrugged. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

His parents had seen it and so had Tucker and Star! Hell, everyone in school had always implied it, even Paulina had said it on more than one occasion. "It doesn't matter anyway," the woman before him stated. "She doesn't want you and when she and I talked, she told me that like she had told you, that she wanted us to leave her alone!" He wasn't listening to her and changing quickly to his ghost half he headed off to talk to the Goth because in the end it didn't matter what Paulina wanted. It mattered what he and Sam wanted and even with the Goth fighting him on this he knew that she really loved him. She was just hurt, and it was his fault, but he would fix it, no matter what it took to get them there. He would leave Amity if he needed to, just to prove to her that he wasn't going to walk away and that she wasn't a rebound, not now and not before.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sam was currently laying in her bed, the sun long gone as she lay there alone, thinking about what she should do now. She had promised the older halfa that she would do as he asked her, but another part of her was screaming that this was the chance to leave. She was free to take her unborn child and leave the younger male behind and yet, as another tear made a trail down her cheek, she couldn't do it. She hadn't been lying about not wanting to hurt either halfa, but her own health was important, maybe more so at this point, with her being pregnant. Though she loved Danny and Dan had been another love for her, neither were helpless like her own babies in her womb so with that thought she forced herself to crawl out of bed, to leave the spot where Dan had faded away.

She opened her laptop and began a long night of cancelling her contract with Marie, the older woman understanding when she explained all that had been happening with the father of her unborn baby, before making plans to leave the state and head back toward her own hometown. While she wasn't going back she figured that she could move close enough that Danny could see the baby when they were born, and for the year that they would be staying together, not that it would be needed now with her cutting off her contract, but she would give him that. That way she would be far enough away that after that year of living together that Danny couldn't visit her all the time, unless to see their child, but that he could have no complaint about her being so far from him with said child. She knew that he wanted more from her, that he felt the need to marry her so that he could do the right thing, and while it was all honorable and stuff, that she couldn't trust him with her heart, not right now at least.

"What are you doing?" came a voice from behind her. Sam spun around to find Danny floating behind her, his blue eyes on the screen before him, her conversation with Marie still on the screen while the one for her plans was hidden below it. She shut the laptop before standing up to face him. "You're not leaving again are you?" She nodded.

"I am moving closer to Amity so that we can do what Dan asked of us," was her response, the surprise in his eyes lighting up the blue orbs. "I will give you a year, but only after the baby is born. After that I would like for you to adhere to my wishes." That surprise was gone, replaced with frustration. "I know that's not what you want, but you're not the only one in this situation, now are you?"

"Sam, I don't know what she told you," the halfa said, frustration thick in his tone. "But I knew that I wanted to be with you, I was just stupid." She shook her head.

"Danny, you have been pining for Paulina since you met her, hell, every chance that you could you asked her to wrap her head around Paulina Fenton." Now she chuckled, but it wasn't a happy sound. "It was your password to your computer for fuck's sake!" Throwing up her hands she let out an exasperated breath. "I'm not in the mood to fight." She looked toward her bed, her lips turning down at the empty space. "I-I just can't today with you after dealing with Paulina... and then..." That's when the halfa realized that Dan was gone, his presence gone from the room. He wanted to ask her about the missing male, but judging by her emotions and the empty spot where the older male had been, he could tell that the older halfa was gone.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, moving to pull her into a hug. At first the raven haired woman fought him, shoving at his chest with protests about him holding her. "I know that he wasn't the enemy to yo-" She broke down, tears escaping from her now closed eyes as she clung to him. They stood like that for several minutes as the Goth mourned the loss of a friend, a lover, and her rock during the several trying months after she had left Amity. He had been willing to aide her in her endeavor, seeing that she was hurt by the male now holding her close, but he was also pushing her to make up with that same male. When it could have been them for those few several months doing nothing but enjoy their time together, he had been helping her get past what Danny had done, the mistake that they had both done.

"He wasn't the enemy," she muttered. "He was the ally I needed when I would have just been alone." He laid his chin on her head, listening to her talk about the male that had gone with her, helped her to run away, but at the same time had tried to assist in getting them back together and while Danny and Dan had never gotten along (especially after trying to kill his friend and family) the older male had been mature with his view on their relationship and had attempted to help him. "He knew about stuff that should have never come to light and yet, he didn't pity me." She sniffled now, a mirthless giggle escaping her lavender lips. "It was for both of us, ya know, being able to spend the last of this time together." She pulled away from him, his arms falling to his side. "He gave me what I needed and I helped to fulfill his lost chance, but it was never the same as what we both wished it to be."

"Jazz said that that was the reason you two were together, but I just couldn't see that," the halfa admitted.

"Well, she was right, but she was wrong," the Goth stated, moving to sit on the bed. "For him, his Sam is gone." She touched the spot where he had been laying with her as his last breath escaped his lungs. "While my love is alive, it is dead." He wanted to ask her about that, but she shook her head at his unspoken question. "We can never be that way, Danny. Can't you see that? You made your choice a long time ago, and while I was willing to stick by you as a ghost fighting partner, I should not have allowed the line in the sand to be crossed."

"I wanted to do that with you, to be with you as more than a friend," the halfa said as he stood over her. "I don't regret it, bu-"

"You DID regret it, bastard!" she hissed, her hand going to her stomach as if to protect her child. "You said it was a mistake! And even if you hadn't said it, the look in your eyes spoke volumes for you!"

"I just didn't want you to think that I was using you!" he cried back in frustration. "I loved you, but couldn't bring myself to put our relationship at odds if it didn't work out!" That was an eye opener for both of them, his emotions revealing that he had indeed loved her with that statement, but she was having none of it.

"Danny, if that was the case then why did you do it?" He blinked at her question. "If you didn't want to mess up our friendship, then why would you do it anyway? In the worst way possible?" He couldn't answer that question.

"I-I don't know," he said, his gaze on her as he continued, "We were having fun, like we hadn't in a long time and suddenly I just knew that I wanted to kiss you..." He faded off, unable to explain the feelings that had swamped him that day.

"We didn't hang out because you were too busy with the woman that you love," she stated. "You should go back to her. She wants you back and you can have babies with her because I am not getting into a relationship with anyone, not even you." She took a deep breath, rubbing her stomach as if to calm the unborn life in her stomach. "I will work at the gallery until I hit my six month, which apparently isn't that far from now, and then I will move to the new place. I will contact you when the baby is born, but other than that I am not looking for a relationship other than as the father to my child."

"Sam, I should have more a say in this," Danny stated, reaching out to grab her hands as he crouched before her. "Even Dan said that you needed to compromise and you aren't doing that! You are pushing me away, not even willing to listen to what I have to say."

"I did com-" He leaned over, his face just inches from hers, the close contact forcing her to shut her mouth in surprise.

"He said that you needed to listen to me, that you and I need each other," the halfa stated, feeling as if he were getting her to listen to him by using the older halfa's own words. "He said that in front of me because he and I both know how you are when you are really hurt! You won't listen to anything said, but you promised him that you would compromise and that is not a one time thing. You will have to work with me because of our child, but I don't just want you to do that because of him or because of our child. I want you to work with me, to see that I do love you, because you love me too."

"I told you that that love died, Danny!" she spat back, trying to pull away from him.

"It didn't die," was his response. "It's weaker than it was before because of the hurt I inflicted on you with my words, but I didn't mean them that way! I wanted you to know that I was considerate of your own feelings for us. If you didn't want to be with me as more than a friend then I wanted you to stop me." She blinked at that confession. "After that, well, I felt like you would regret it, that you would think that just because Paulina had broken up with me that I had used you as a replacement."

"And you did! You had just been broken up for less than a week," she pointed out. "How could you know the difference between love and a rebound, Danny? You had been with her for years!" For a moment there was silence, the time for the words to sink in for both parties. "Danny, I don't think you understand."

"That you love me and yet you're pushing me away," he said with a frustrated growl. "I don't understand that."

"Danny, the world saw us together, but even as we were always together, that is understandable," she replied. "The problem was that we weren't meant to be together." His jaw clenched at her words. "Sure, there were times that I thought we could be together, but Danny, even those times were marred by others proving that we couldn't be more than friends. Think about it."

"I don't get what you're speaking of," he stated. "We are perfect for each other, our feelings are strong and our connection is just as powerful." She shook her head at him, again pulling on his hands to get him to release her.

"Danny, all we are are each other's weakness. Think about all the times that I was used to draw you to your potential death."

"It's not because we are each other's weakness," the halfa spat, frustration in his tone. "We are each other's strengths! You aren't making any sense." She sighed.

"Danny, you wouldn't have found yourself in such dire straights, living the life that you had to live if I hadn't pushed you into the portal, twice I might add." She knew from what Dan had told her that she was lying and while she knew that he was right about his logical look on that one, she was sure that Danny hadn't yet figured it out and so she could use it to push him back. "Because of me you were forced to fight against ghosts while your parents hunted you down!" He shook his head now.

"Sam, you know that's not true," he whispered, seeing the fear in her eyes mixing with surprise at his words. "I wasn't the first halfa to be born." He could see it in her gaze, her shock at his understanding of his Fate. It had been meant to be and he knew it. "It's like us," he whispered, his face moving closer to hers and she knew what he was going to do. He was going to kiss her and she couldn't make herself move from that spot. "We are meant to be, even if we lost our way for a moment. It is our Fate, my wish and yours, to be together." His lips touched hers, the chill from his body mixing with the heat from hers. She didn't fight him as the halfa before her moved over her body, pushing her back onto the bed as his lips moved over hers.

Sam was lost the moment he whispered those words, his kiss seeming to shut down her brain while her heart beat quicker, happy that he was there with her. She couldn't fight the feelings that overwhelmed her in that moment, the feeling of being whole... of coming home. It was the right place to be and yet her brain was trying to come back online with the negative aspects of what she was doing. It reminded her that the halfa on her hadn't answer her question about how he could know the difference of a rebound and the love he claimed to feel for her. He had said he loved the Latina as well, and even though she had been spouting nonsense to force him away from her, that was still true. He loved Paulina! Finding the strength to push him off of her she moved away from him. His eyes were glazed and while she could see something in those stormy depths she couldn't place it. Maybe it was lust, but at that moment she just knew that she needed to keep him away from her.

"No," she whispered. "You need to leave." When he opened his mouth to refuse she said the words she never hoped to say to him when this all began. "If you don't give me space then I will fight you for custody of my child." His eyes narrowed, the threat of her words ringing in his mind and while he didn't believe she would do it, the idea was enough to get him to step back from her. He could see all the emotions whirling in her amethyst orbs and he knew that she hadn't wanted to threaten him so with a nod he was gone, the Goth left alone in her room to ponder what she would do now that it was out there, that Danny knew she loved him even though she had done all she could to push him away. She had three months to find a place to stay, but before that she would assist Marie in finding a replacement to run the gallery. Sighing she sat down at her desk, ready to search for the rest of the night for both things.


	9. Chapter 9

A few days later found the awkward pair in the waiting room of the doctor's offices just down the street from Sam's home. Danny was still upset with her and she was still frustrated with him. Why couldn't he just do the one thing she wanted from him? Why couldn't he just give up on her and move on? He was thinking along the same lines, save for giving up on her... He was more upset that she was giving up on him. Neither said a word, the Goth scrolling thru her phone, the applicants to replace her at the gallery filling her gaze. He leaned over a bit, noting that she was checking out the people that would be taking over for her and deciding that one of them had to be the bigger person asked, "Lots of people looking for a job?" She almost didn't acknowledge his question, ready to continue giving him the silent treatment, but seeing as he was trying to be polite nodded.

"Lots of unqualified people," she stated, her finger moving down to the next applicant. "Or they just want an easy job." Another person was deleted as the silence took over again, neither knowing what to say to make the tension go away. "I know that you're trying, Danny, but there's really nothing to talk about. I chose to walk away, to leave and that is my choice." The halfa narrowed his gaze at her. "You can be upset, but I have compromised plenty in regards to the life of my child."

"Our child," he pointed out, the raven haired female sighing.

"Our child," she conceded. "Our child will have both of his or her parents. Most children don't even have that." He said nothing, still feeling upset that she wouldn't allow them to be more. "Just because we are having a child doesn't mean we have to get married or even live together." Now he felt that she was trying to piss him off, to convince herself that she was right to keep fighting him. Before he could voice his opinion the nurse came out from the back, Sam being paged to the front for her examine. The pair stood up, the halfa following her to the door as the nurse held it open. Following behind the red headed nurse, her name unknown as Sam pondered what else she could do to get the halfa to realize that until he could figure out the difference between a rebound and love, that she wasn't looking to be left behind again. No, she had walked away and while he had come looking for her, it hadn't been out of love. No, he had come to find her because of Jazz and the shock of finding out that the Goth was with Dan.

"Here is a gown," the nurse said, handing off a sherbet green outfit to the raven haired female. "Once you get changed the doctor will be in to see you." Heading off she left the pair alone again, this time with no one to hear the words spoken in frustration.

"I just don't understand why you don't want to give our child a real family," he muttered as she pulled the curtain closed so she could change.

"I already told you that that was off the table, Danny," was her frustrated response. "I don't want a marriage like my parents." His brow raised up at this. What did her parents have to do with this? He opened his mouth to ask just as her pants dropped to the ground, his body reacting to the thought that she was naked behind the curtain, and his mouth shut. "It's not that I don't like the idea of our child having the whole package, but they will have a family and that is more important than us living together." After pulling back the curtain she climbed up on the table, her legs exposed to his gaze, his blue eyes unwavering as they moved up those long legs. "Danny?" she questioned when she noted his gaze was rather glazed looking.

"What?" he asked, his eyes coming up to meet hers. She could see the lust that blazed in those blue orbs, the heat that settled low in her belly. She tried to shake it off, to remind herself that while she had given him a kiss just the other day, that having sex was the last thing they needed to do.

"Just get that thought out of your head," she said, her eyes narrowing even as her blood warmed, singing out the need for him. He blinked at her. "I can see it in your eyes," she clarified. He frowned at her words, realizing that she was referring to the lust, the need that raced thru his blood. The need to claim her, to make her see that they could be so good together if she would just give them a chance. "It's just lust and you can just sate yourself with her." Again he was stopped from biting back at her, the doctor entering the room. The male in the white coat was rather young, at most thirty years, his blond hair tinted with bits of copper. His green eyes were on the clipboard in his hand as he looked over her charts.

"Hi," he said looking at the pair before him. He could feel the tension in the room, the chill in the air as Danny tried to temper his anger and frustration. "My name is Dr. DeNile." He moved to stand close to Sam, the male on her other side making him rather uncomfortable with the anger that seemed to make his eyes glow. "I see that you are about three months along and this is your second visit with us?" The Gothic female nodded just as the door opened and the nurse from earlier returned, a cart with machinery on it being pushed into the room. "May I ask why you didn't come to see us sooner?"

"I wasn't having any symptoms to connect to pregnancy," was her response. "No sickness or anything." He made a note about that before asking her if she wanted to know the sex of her child. She had to think about that for a second, her eyes flickering to Danny to see what he wanted to do. She was making a choice at that moment to give him the option. He nodded and she said, "Yes, we would." The doctor asked her to lay back, the Goth complying as Danny turned fully to watch as the male pulled up the gown to reveal Sam's protruding belly after the nurse covered her bottom have with a blanket.

"So, is this the father of the baby?" DeNile inquired as he pulled on some latex gloves. Sam nodded. "Good. It is always nice to see the father wanting to be a part of the pregnancy since most don't really take much interest in the doctor's appointments." That rose a few brows. "Usually the woman is alone, the father either unable to attend or just not interested in it." The sound of the squirting filled the silence that fell over the room. The doctor was watching them out the corner of his eyes. He could see that there was more to this story, that maybe these two before him weren't in love, but he could see it in the male's eyes while the raven haired woman before him seemed to be shuttering her gaze. "This is going to be a bit cold," he warned, the gel put on her stomach before he turned on the machine. Taking the wand he moved it over her stomach, pushing down a bit to see the inside of her womb.

The couple watched the screen, the wand moving slowly over her stomach, almost too slowly as Danny stared it down. Sam was holding her breath, her first glimpse of her baby about to be before her. What happened next seemed to shock all of them as the heartbeat of their children echoed in the room. "Um," the halfa said, his mouth feeling like someone had stuffed his mouth full of cotton. "Is that..."

"Oh," Sam said in surprise as the grey blob on the screen seemed to separate before their eyes.

"Well, congratulations," the doctor said, his green eyes turning to look at them. "You are the proud parents of four children." That was all it took for the Goth to fall back, her head hitting the cushioning under her. She said nothing, her eyes wide as she realized that she was fucked if she tried to do this alone. There was no way that she could take care of four babies alone! She would have to hire help if she didn't take the option that Danny wanted her to take. He leaned over her now, his hand pushing away the hair from her forehead.

"Sam, you okay?" She blinked at him, her amethyst eyes reflecting the fear and... defeat. While he wanted to cheer about the fact that the Goth had no choice but to accept his help in raising their children, he felt sad that she was looking so upset. She nodded, her eyes shutting as she tried to wrap her mind around the fact that she would be having more than one child, hell, more than two... She was having three children and with the fact that they could be half ghosts, there was no way that she could hire someone to help her. She would need the halfa just as Dan had said. Had he known that she was having more than one baby? There was no way that was possible... unless...

"He knew," she murmured. He raised a brow at her, the doctor pausing in what he was doing. Sam looked up at Danny. "Dan knew how many babies we were going to have." He blinked in surprise, but then he realized that the halfa had to have known something to have said the words he had said and now he too connected the dots to the fact that the older halfa had access to the mirror in Clockwork's Tower. But that brought on another question about why Dan had freaked out on him after learning that she was pregnant himself. Had he not known when Sam would fall pregnant and how it had happened? They received a picture of the babies, one girl and three boys in total, before they exited the office, both of them still in a daze as to what this day had seemed to uncover.

"It will be okay," the raven haired ghost fighter said as soon as they were out in the afternoon sun. He turned to her, his arm falling over her shoulder to pull her into his side. "We will get it all figured out." Sam tensed beside him, her eyes narrowing before she turned on him, her mood changing in that split second.

"Yeah, we will be and I bet you are just sooooo happy," she snapped. "You got your way!" Her face turned red as she fumed before him. "You don't even understand how I feel about this! I didn't want to be put in such a spot, a reason that you have to put your life on hold for something you regretted right after we did it! I don't want to be in a relationship like that!" He frowned at her for a moment, his own anger rising to combat hers, but he didn't say a word as she pulled away from him. "I keep telling you this, but you don't seem to get it, Danny!"

"No, Sam, I get it, but it's all a lie," he said, forcing himself to keep calm in the face of her anger, her frustration with the demolishment of her plans. "I told you that I love you and that I want to be with you, but you keep pushing me away... You keep acting like you know my heart and my feelings." She let out an exasperated breath. "You keep acting like I am going to walk away from you. You need to see that you were the one to run and when I came to find you that I wanted you. I didn't even know about your pregnancy whe-"

"You came because Jazz told you I was keeping company with your enemy!" she spat before the pair realized that they were out in public having a spat, several people watching the pair. "Fucking hell," she muttered before stomping off down the street. Since the doctor's office was so close the pair had just walked there so when she began to walk away the halfa followed, though he kept silent. It was partly true that he had come because of who she was hanging out with, but a big part of it had been Dan's words that day.

He is losing her. She is starting to imagine life without him in it and this time she may not be afraid to take that step.

He wanted to tell her that, but the fact that she was pregnant and upset stopped him when he recalled the other thing the older halfa had said to him so instead he repeated that, "Sam, remember what Dan said about getting upset?" She stopped, her head turning to look at him in surprise before nodding. "If I am making you upset then I will leave you alone. At least for now. We can talk later." That seemed to shock her, the amethyst orbs looking at him widening slightly at his words. Without another word the halfa took to the skies leaving Sam to stand there, watching him go with blurred vision making him blend in with the skies above her into a blob of colors. She did want him to leave her alone and while he promised to talk to her later she found herself feeling so lost and hurt that he had really left her.

"Stupid pregnancy hormones," she muttered before heading further down the street, unaware that the halfa who had left her was still there. He had gone invisible so he could keep an eye on her while at the same time giving her her space. He could see the tears that were waiting to be shed by her, those feelings reflecting in her expressive eyes even as she tried to force them out. He waited until she got home before taking off into the skies toward his own room, unsure as to how to make the woman he loved, the woman who was having his babies, see that he truly did love her. They were just going around in circles and he was stuck in that loop. He was afraid to leave her because of Dan's words, but he was also worried that staying was only pushing her further away.

Darlin' you got to let me know

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The halfa entered the space that he had been calling his home, the room that was the spare one in Jazz's house where her desk was and the laptop that sat on it next to the small bed. He plopped down in the chair, his mind full of questions with only a few answers given. He needed to talk to someone and so with a few clicks he found himself face to face with his mother. She looked confused as to why he was calling only her, but waited for him to spill it.

Should I stay or should I go?

"Mom, I am lost," he stated, his tone coming off as defeated and causing his mother to lean forward.

"What do you mean, hon?" she inquired. Danny told her all that had been happening since the last time he had talked to them, the story about how Sam wouldn't allow him to be more than a father on the sidelines and then when it was revealed that they would be parents to four children at once, well, that she had blown up at him, accusing him of being happy that she was forced to give into his wishes. Maddie listened quietly, every word put into a category in her mind as she too worked out what the issue really was between the pair and why the Goth was fighting so hard to push Danny away.

If you say that you are mine

"Seems that she is in denial, but then again, she seems to be under the assumption that you can't possibly love her either." She pondered that for a moment, all the information being sifted thru now, the real reason for Sam's fight against the love that was really right before her and how to get her to see it as everyone else saw it. "Jazz is right about one thing though, and that is the fact that Dan was just a replacement for you since she saw you as unobtainable." He nodded. Yeah, he got that, even Sam had admitted to the fact that she wasn't in love with the older halfa, not like the love she claimed for him, the one that had died according to her. "Honestly son, I can see where she is coming from on one side and then on the other I think she is just afraid."

"I don't get what could make her afraid of committing to us as a couple," he said, his head falling into his hands. The red head felt bad for her son, but like she had told him before, Sam was just letting him see some of that pain that lurked beneath the surface.

I'll be here 'til the end of time

"Well, let's see," his mother said. "Paulina had just broken up with you and then you jumped Sam only to screw that up without a thought about what you were saying... Then you came to her after it had been revealed that you were having her baby..." He growled.

"I went to her before that!" he hissed. "Dan told me to leave her alone, to give her space." That was new information. The older male had warned Danny off, keeping him from talking to the Goth until after her pregnancy had been revealed. "Hell, he even knew how many children we were having!" The young halfa was getting more and more worked up and then his mother hit him with a strange request.

So you got to let me know

"Leave. Tell her that you have to come back home or even be truthful and tell her that you are going to give her space so that she can think." He balked at that. He couldn't leave her. She was alone and pregnant with his children. "You don't have to really leave, hon. Just give her a few weeks and try again." It was a bad idea and the halfa knew it and yet, it made sense. If Sam was left alone or at least appearing to be alone then she could see that he was listening, but then he could see the hurt in her eyes when he had just left her. "Her hormones will help her to see that while she is strong, she does need you." He shook his head.

"I can't do that," was his response. "I can't leave her here alone, even if I don't leave her really. It would be like that time when I spied on her. She would feel betrayed if I did that to her... and she might leave. She's already threatened to take the children with her, no shared custody." That was surprising to hear since Sam wasn't one to hurt the halfa before her. She would never inflict such pain, but then again she was pregnant and her emotions were all over the place.

Should I stay or should I go?

Danny was so lost on what he should do, completely unaware that like his mother had said, Sam was conflicted herself.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

She was laying in her bed, her eyes closed as she tried to calm down, the pain from Danny leaving her earlier causing her to reflect on how it would be if he really left her. She didn't believe that he would really leave her, but her heart was fighting a battle against the logic of her brain. "I don't know what to do," she uttered to the empty room as her hand rubbed her stomach, her babies seeming to calm her as she thought thru this dilemma. She had already promised to live with him for the first year after the babies were born, but with the realization that she was having multiple babies she knew that plan would have to change, as would all her other plans. She couldn't go on tour with the knowledge that she would be too big to move around, and that the stress of moving around more could be bad for her and the babies. Everything was falling apart around her head and she was lost.

It's always tease tease tease

Dan had been her sounding board, though he had pushed for her to talk to the other halfa, the younger male the real person that she should be talking to since it would be them in the end with those babies. He had talked with her many a night about her feelings for the halfa, the feelings that she had been trying to push away to protect herself. She needed to admit somethings, things that she hadn't wanted to admit... not even to herself. Danny was right. The love wasn't dead, though it was weakened just a bit. She would love Danny forever, no matter what, but she was hurt by his reaction and while that in itself was part of the reason for her fear it wasn't the whole thing.

She had been giving him clues, admitting things to him about her feelings on the matter, but she hadn't told him that she was afraid that he would stay with her, that he would regret staying with her should Paulina jump back into the picture, or if Valerie showed back up. She worried that he would get tired of being a father and she was afraid to end up in a relationship that mirrored her parents own. Sam had been a mistake, a child conceived before the pair had even thought of marrying. Her mother had fallen pregnant to him after a few months of dating... well, what the rich considered dating as Jeremy had been uninterested in marrying her or any female. He had been sowing his wild oats before he was to marry a female of his parents' choosing. Pamela had been one of his girlfriends, his booty calls. She had been going thru a wild phase of her own and while it was frowned upon for her to act the way she had been acting, having already had sex before Jeremy, she had been found out when the red head had started throwing up several weeks after having sex with the blond male.

You're happy when I'm on my knees

They had been forced into a literal shot gun wedding, Pamela's father brandishing a gun at the wedding. Sam had shaken her head at that picture, the fact that there was proof, her mother still small enough that no one would question it and yet you could see the baby bump if you looked close enough. Her parents had never loved each other, hell, the Goth was more than certain that they were seeing other people from the moment they were married to now. Danny would never understand since his parents had loved each other from the moment they saw each other to now. Their marriage was a symbol of how a real marriage should be. They had their fights, but it wasn't over how much they hated each other or how badly they wanted to divorce but couldn't... No, they fought about missing anniversaries or about their inventions, hell, they even fought about Santa's existence, but never about their feelings for each other.

Sam startled, the feeling of ice coming from her protruding stomach making her sit up suddenly. She moved her hand around and found that the feeling of cold was indeed coming from her stomach. "Shit," she said, fear whelming up in her chest at the thought that her babies were getting upset... Danny had always done that when he had become agitated. "Hey," she whispered, her hand moving in circles to calm the babies. "What's wrong?" The chill was still there, but it didn't get worse so she continued to talk to her unborn children. "I know that it feels like everything is going wrong out here, but trust me, mommy and d-daddy will make it all work out in the end."

One day is fine and next is black

"I am trying really hard to..." she faded off, unsure of what she was doing anymore. She wanted her children, and yet she felt like they had trapped her in a corner. If she had been pregnant with just one baby she could have done it all on her own, right? "I'm fucking things up," she said, her tone one of resignation and frustration. "Your daddy is right about me. I refuse to listen to him, but then again I don't think he's really listening either." Silence was her response, but she didn't really think she would get a response. Crawling out of bed she headed for the main room, still talking to her children. "He wanted to give me a way out, but doesn't he realize that if I had wanted a way out or if I had really felt like he had thought that I wouldn't have done it. I knew what I was doing, damn it." She turned on the radio, her own voice greeting her, the song reflecting on the issue going on at that moment.

So if you want me off your back

"I really need to listen to him like Dan said," she muttered. Pulling out her phone she pushed her contact list and finding the halfa's name on the top clicked his name.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Danny had been lost in thought, his mother having left him in peace with his turbulent thoughts, the idea that he would never be able to get Sam to see it from his side when the phone rang. The song playing from the communication device raising his brows. "Hello?" He listened as the Goth on the other end asked him to come over and talk. His heart clenched at the pain in her tone, the underlying worry that reflected with the pain. "Is everything okay?" She reiterated that she really needed to talk to him so the halfa hung up and flew over to her home, the Goth sitting in the main room on the couch. Her body posture worried him, her hand on her stomach as she spoke softly. "Sam?" She turned to him and he could see that worry that had been in her voice, the fear and pain mixing in her gaze.

"Hey," she said before getting up and to the surprise of the halfa took his hands to place them on her stomach, his eyes widening at the feel of the cold that seemed to be coming from her stomach. "You can feel it, right?" He nodded, his eyes falling to her stomach in confusion. Could the children in her womb be lethal to her? "No, I don't think they are meaning to do it. Kind of like when you are upset, well, in the beginning when you couldn't control your powers." He looked at her, the worry in her gaze before returning his attention to the unborn children in her womb. He crouched down, his hands moving to lift up her shirt. She didn't fight him, her body shaking with the fear that her own emotions had brought about the power rising in her.

Well come on and let me know

She could feel a chill rising up her chest, into her throat and to the surprise of Danny and Sam out her mouth as she opened her mouth to say something. He began to rub his warm hands over her cold skin for a moment before speaking. "Hey you guys," he said, his voice firm and yet so soft. "You have to calm down or you could hurt your mom." His own hands continued to move around her belly. "I know that everything is a little rough right now and that your mom is feeling rather emotional, but you have to understand where she is coming from." Sam stood there, listening to him talk to their children. "I didn't listen to her, nor did I react in a way that made sense, but we are working on it and when you come out everything will be fine. No matter what happens we will love you." The chill began to fade, the babies seeming to calm a bit, though the chill was still there faintly. Her hands were now in his hair, her fingers moving thru the raven locks.

"I'm sorry," she murmured above him as he continued to move his hands slowly over her belly, the pair of them trying to calm down each other down while also letting the babies know that it was okay and that they also needed to calm. He looked up at her in surprise. "I wasn't listening to you, but Danny, you weren't listening to my words either. Neither of us was really thinking about anyone but ourselves." She was opening up her heart again, allowing him a glimpse into the fears, worries, and other emotions that flew around in that organ that beat in her chest. They were finally taking the first step in communicating without fighting and now there was just one question left to answer for both of them...

Should I stay or should I go?


	10. Chapter 10

The next month was trying for the awkward pair as Sam tried to remain positive, allowing Danny to come and spend the days with her even if she continued to keep her heart from getting involved. Danny could see that she was open to allowing him close to her body, but he could also tell that she was not allowing their relationship to become more, even after she had admitted that she hadn't listened to him. That day found the halfa heading down to the gallery just a few minutes before it would open, the Goth he was looking for standing before it with another woman, the brunette standing close to her with a note pad. His brow rose. He guessed this was Sam's replacement as the raven haired woman listed off a few things while opening the door.

"So, it is best to come earlier than this?" the brunette asked as she looked up at the woman training her. Her blue eyes were dark, a grey blue color that seemed to glow with interest as she wrote a few more things in the book.

"It's best to get here no later than thirty till ten," Sam said as they pushed open the door to allow the pair to head in just as Danny moved to catch up with them. The amethyst eyes that noticed him became shuttered to his gaze. "Danny, what are you doing here?" she inquired, the brunette in the building coming back to the entrance to see whom the Goth was speaking to, her eyes becoming wide when she saw Danny.

"Danny Phantom!" she gushed, her blue eyes shinning now with adoration. "I never thought I would ever get to meet you!" She held out a hand, the halfa shaking it without taking his eyes off the Gothic woman behind the brunette. "My name is Rose!" He murmured something polite and while Rose got the hint she hesitated in stepping away, only glancing between the pair. "So you're the father!" Now he was looking at her as was Sam in surprise. "Not hard to guess with all I know about your little town." She pulled out her phone to show the pair her photos, the pair surprised to find that this woman had pics of their fights. "I went to your school, though I was in the grade below you two." She gushed on about how she had followed their ghost hunting, though Tucker had been aware of her tailing them he had only warned her to not get in the way. "I should let you talk." And with that she entered the building to begin her tasks before opening while the pair of soon to be parents stood there in shock of what this brunette female revealed before Danny finally managed to recall that he had been coming to spend the night with her.

"I was just going to spend the evening with you," he said. "I know that you seem to get peaked at night so I figured I could help out." She smiled slightly at him, the smile a weak one.

"I haven't had that problem lately," she stated, the awkwardness of the encounters coming back in full force. "Only when I get stressed out or overwhelmed, but with Rose here I should have no problems because she will be doing all the work." She glanced toward the building as lights came on both inside and out. "She's quick, absorbing all that I have walked her thru in the last few weeks." Silence took over for a moment as Sam refused to meet the blue gaze that was locked on her, the halfa trying to figure out why she was still holding back. Could that change once they lived together for a year? Did he really want to wait until that time to be given that chance to change her mind? "We are hanging out during the week," she pointed out now, the realization that he had not come to see her on the weekends since that day that the halfa had helped to calm down their babies, the underlying message in that simple statement.

"I still came and watched," he admitted, noting that she narrowed her eyes at that sentence. "And no, I wasn't spying on you directly. I was here that night that Dan spoke of Ember."

"So, you weren't spying this time, but you did before this? Is that what you are admitting to me, Danny?" He shook his head. He had been...yeah, it was spying, but he knew that if she called it that then she was going to be pissed off at him and they would only be raising her blood pressure again. It was as if she realized what was going on, the look in his blue eyes a mixture of worry and unease, and the Goth before him closed her eyes before taking in a few deep breaths. "I am not doing this tonight," she said, her eyes opening to reveal that they were still shuttered. He was at a stalemate with her, at least tonight... though he couldn't really fight with her about it later either. He wasn't going to work her up, not at risk of her or the babies' health.

"I'm just here to look at your artwork," he stated. "I was rather shocked at all that you had painted, not that I knew you could paint si- Nevermind. Do you mind if I come and spend the evening looking at your art?" He decided that he would have to give her the leading role in this situation as it was her job that he was at. It wasn't something he wanted to wait for, the chance to bring her back to his side in a romantic sense, but he would do it for her. She seemed surprised at his question and with a simple nod walked into the building with the halfa following slowly behind her. Rose came walking over to them looking a bit worried.

"What's wrong, Rose?" Sam asked, immediately going back into work mode, her posture more relaxed. It hurt that she more relaxed in the work environment than she was with him, the pair of them never having such tension between them.

"Well, there are a few spaces empty and I thought that that wasn't supposed to happen," the trainee stated and the pair headed off to find the spaces that needed filled as the halfa watched them. He walked after them, but not with them as he looked at the art on the wall, most of it Sam's at that moment since Marie was just a few months from delivery... maybe less since Sam had been here for a few months herself. He could hear them talking in the distance and heading over there found the Goth before two doors, explaining about the room they were about to enter. Danny stood behind them as Sam opened the room, a light flickering on in the large space where he could see several paintings lay against the wall in the far back as well as others that were on racks above those.

"Well, since the two spaces that are empty are large and small, we need to choose two pictures to fill them," the raven haired female stated as she pointed to two different spaces. The halfa raised a brow when she went to lift a rather large one and without waiting to see if she could lift it the male took it from her fingers and headed out of the room, the Goth glowering as she went to follow him. She stopped when she realized that it was probably best to let him take the artwork to the wall before turning to Rose, the other woman grabbing a small canvas off the left wall. Sighing she headed off to where Danny was placing the first artwork. Rose was replacing the other one when she stopped behind the halfa who was looking at the picture of Vortex, the weather ghost high in the skies above Amity, the ground covered in snow with a withered Undergrowth near Fenton Works.

The Goth didn't know what to say as she watched him study the painting. "Is the picture that had Dan asking about Undergrowth?" He turned to her, the surprise in her amethyst orbs disappearing upon his probing look. She shook her head at his question.

"No, that one had me in it," Sam stated, planted on that spot when the raven haired ghost fighter moved closer to her. "He never really met Undergrowth so he wanted the story on the one that had me un-" She shook her head. Why was she explaining herself? Danny knew that Dan had stopped his ghost fighting so early in the story, his own story on pause at that moment.

"He was right though," the halfa pointed out. "I never did blame you for what happened, the same thing could be said when you didn't rip into me after the Freakshow incident." She smiled. Yeah, she could see where he was coming from, but then her smile died.

"There was a difference," she said with a frustrated look. "You came out from under his control when I was in danger, but I co-"

"I was never in danger," the halfa said, cutting her off. "There was no need for you to worry about me when the only problem I had was with my powers." She blinked at the realization that he was right. While his control had been faltering because of her, it had been because she was in danger and the halfa hadn't been in that same situation. Sure, he had been having a hard time with his powers, but those same powers had aided in helping him escape Undergrowth. "It would have been different had I not been able to fight back."

"You don't know if that is true," she replied.

"And neither do you," he shot back. "And you weren't under his control for long, Sam. Not even a day had passed before you were freed." This was also true. Freakshow had had the halfa under control for a few days, his looting happening several days in a row before he had been presented with the freedom because of the ghost envying freak's mistake in taking the Goth. Rose approached at that moment, her own blue eyes taking in the scene before her, the pair forgotten as she approached the painting.

"He's right," the brunette muttered. "Even the ghosts that wanted him dead were willing to do something to help even if it worked for their own benefit." Blushing she apologized before heading toward the door to allow their clients in while the pair stood there in surprise at this woman's candor.

"Danny, it's just hard to," she waved her hand as if to emphasize that she was still trying to get past what had happened between them, the halfa saying nothing. "I mean, like I asked you before. How can you tell that it was love and not just a rebound and you have yet to answer that question. If you can give me an answer to that then..." she faded off as a regular client came over to ask about something that Rose had been unable to answer. Sam turned from him and began doing her job, the brunette joining her to take notes so that she would be prepared to take over for her in the next couple of months. Danny didn't have an answer still for that question. He knew he loved her, but that wasn't going to work for what Sam wanted. She wanted him to prove it and words meant nothing to her at that moment. The old saying 'Actions speak louder than words' came to mind so he would figure out a way to prove it to her... The question was how?

Danny spent the better part of the next few weeks trying to figure out how to best prove that he loved Sam, but there was nothing there save for his words to prove that he loved the raven haired female with all his heart. At that moment the halfa was sitting with said Goth on the couch of her small home, the place still on the market and Sam having not filled him in on whether she had found a house. The halfa had been looking for a place close to his own home, hoping that if he kept her close that he could also keep an eye on her so she couldn't run. There was one place close by, her own home several blocks away so she wouldn't have to worry about running into her parents all that often, not that they would be happy to learn that Sam was pregnant by him, but like him they deserved to know that their daughter would be a mother soon enough herself.

"I found a place," Sam said, her voice startling him from his own thoughts. "It's right on the edge of Amity but the house is perfect with enough rooms for all of us and a backyard for them to play in when they get older." He wanted to say something, to question if she was being truthful about finding a house or if she was just letting him believe that she was willing to stay near him longer when she had just spoken a threat about taking the babies away. She looked at him now, her eyes still shuttered to his gaze. "The closing is at the end of this month so it's perfect since Rose will be taking over as of this week." She seemed to be waiting on him, her eyes probing his own blue gaze and Danny didn't know if he wanted to lay his unease bare, if he wanted her to know that he didn't think he could trust her, but wasn't that a problem in itself? If he couldn't trust her not to run and she couldn't trust him to love her then where were they in their relationship? Was what they were a relationship? "Danny, I promise that I will not run again, not unless you give me a reason to," she stated, her tone serious.

"Why can't you just be open with me?" he asked. "I don't think that you are really giving us a chance and I know that you said it's because I can't answer your question, but Sam I love you and would do any- have done everything I could to show you that I won't rush you into a deeper relationship." Sam didn't say anything, but he could see that she was working thru what he was saying, her eyes still shuttered, but he knew the look that came over her face was one of contemplation. "I know that I fucked up with how it all went down concerning our one moment of intimacy, but Sam I just couldn't hold back in that moment. It wasn't the best choice on my part, but I- I can't explain what I was thinking knowing that I had been broken up with Paulina for like the hundredth time since she and I got together."

"You went back to her," Sam pointed out, her tone calm even as he saw her eyes flash with pain. It was true. He had gone back to the Ice Queen, but even as he had allowed her to become his girlfriend again it had felt wrong and so he had broken up with her. "You went back to her every time, Danny. If that is love then I really don't want that kind of love because who is to say down the line that you won't go back to her?" His eyes narrowed at her question. He wouldn't go back to the one that had just been a crush, a crush that had crushed his relationship with the woman before him.

"If you won't even give me a chance," Danny stated, "Then how is that fair to me? Or you? I know that I want to be with you and that you have been the only one in my heart for as long as I can think of, but if you won't even open yourself up to that relationship being pos-"

"I did think it was possible!" she spat. "I thought it at that moment that you were in me and then you pulled back, your words so confusing!" Her cheeks were flushing at the agitation in her voice. "I will admit that I had a small crush on you for a few years, but you were my friend so I blew it off."

"But it became more," he stated. "I know that feeling since I was also on that line for the longest time and then I knew in that moment that I wanted you and to hell with what anyone else thought!" He sighed at her stern look, her look one of disbelief at his words. "That! See, you can't even listen to me without instantly feeling that I am lying! I made one mistake and that was the timing." Sam seemed to realize that he was right and while she knew she hadn't been listening as well as she could have she could hear in his tone. He was not only frustrated with her but he was in pain at her refusal. "You said neither of us were listening to the other, but when I finally do that you only open one ear or maybe you're listening but allowing it in one ear and out the other, but either way you're not giving me a chance."

"Okay, so I wasn't trying as ha-"

"You weren't trying, Sam. You were pretending and I am done with the pretending. If you want to be left alone until the birth of our babies then I will give you until the birth to realize what I have been trying to show you!" He hadn't wanted to say that, his eyes wide at his own words, her own amethyst gaze no longer shuttered as shock glittered in those depths. Like her he had thrown out a threat that he had never wanted to use, but now that he had he wanted to take it back. Her mouth opened but no words came out as she closed it again, her brows rose in shock. She couldn't even process and while Danny wanted to take it back he found at this moment he too couldn't say anything. "I just want a chance and I know that in your eyes I don't deserve that after all that has happened, I really want a chance to prove that I love you and that you were not a rebound." She frowned, still seeming thrown by his stunning words. He grabbed her hands, the Goth unable to fight as her mind tried to process all that he had just thrown her. She had not expected such words from him and the pain behind them was loud a clear. Danny really wanted to prove that they were meant to be together, like Fate wanted them to be together, but that meant that Fate had meant for them to be hurt...

"Danny," she whispered, her throat closing as part of her fought to keep the words in her while the other half wanted it to be said, to prove her point instead. "I-If that's what you want to do then-n that is up to you." Was that really what she wanted to say? Had she meant to be stubborn in a very hurtful way? He didn't move, his hands tightening slightly around hers as if asking her if that was what she wanted... Did she want him to leave her alone? She couldn't even shutter her gaze, her emotions so clear for him to see even as she was sorting thru them herself. Suddenly the Goth lunged at him, her arms flying around his waist as she started crying. Danny tensed in astonishment at the sudden about face before relaxing, his arms going around her. She mumbled something into his chest, though he couldn't really tell what it was, and not just because it was muffled, but because the fact that her body was so close, her warm breath on him was causing him to become slightly distracted. It had been a long time since he had held her and yet his body knew this touch, remembered the sensations that had happened with this body on his own.

"S-Sam," he murmured as one of his hands came to rub on her back, the woman in his arms seeming to purr. What was going on here? Suddenly she pushed him back, her eyes wide and semi-glazed. She backed up a bit more on the couch, her cheeks flushed, before standing. "Sam?" Her name wasn't a husky whisper this time as hurt entered his voice and confusion following behind it.

"You said we could take this slow," she said, fidgeting a little with the secret that she wasn't revealing, but she didn't need to since he knew why she had pulled away. If she hadn't moved then there was a chance that they would have given into their instincts and it would have just muddled the waters more. He understood and so with a nod he scooted back to allow her space to sit on the couch. The Goth seemed unsure for a moment but still sat down as far to one side as she could.

"So, you're really willing to give our relationship a chance? No backing out without at least telling me that you are?" She nodded. "I mean it Sam, if you have any reservations we are going to talk about them instead of just running away." She nodded again.

"I promise that I will try, Danny. There is not much more I can do but try. I want this to work out because I do love you. I do want you to be more than my friend." She was laying herself bare before him, showing that him that she would really try, but she had done that before so he would have to try and trust that she was being honest and would follow thru with her promise.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A week later found the couple out on their second date since their agreement. While they held hands, neither had even tried to kiss the other even though the pair were finding it the thing they both wanted to do. Walking past several people the couple entered the theater, the thought that with how they were feeling added with the dark atmosphere of the movie theater was a bad idea never entering their minds. Like they had when they were younger the pair headed for the back corner of the movie theater, neither liking to be near others when watching in the large space since for Sam she didn't like people and Danny couldn't be closed in with his role. It had become a norm for them after his accident, but as soon as they sat down Danny realized that it was a bad idea to be so far away from others, the pull in him to use the darkness to his advantage while Sam was also realizing where they had put themselves.

She wanted to run, the knowledge that they were playing with fire the first thought in her mind and suddenly it was gone as her body seemed to pulse with him so close. There was an armrest between the two, but it might as well as been invisible because it didn't keep the heat between them from heating up. Sam blushed as the halfa at her side took her hand in his, the look in his eyes telling her that he was feeling it, the need to pull her close, but he was respecting her wish for them to go slowly. The lights dimmed, the movie flickering to life on the screen as the pair turned their attention to the screen. An hour later as the horror movie played, Danny had noticed that Sam had begun to look a little green, her skin pale in the flickering lights of the picture on screen. "You okay?" he asked after leaning towards her. The Goth shook her head and without a second thought the halfa led her out of the theater. Once they were outside Sam's color began to return to normal, her shaky breathing worrying the raven haired male before her.

She was sitting next to him on the steps of the large building, the lights above them bright enough that he could see her face, even at the side, rather well. She was really feeling bad to rush out of her favorite kind of movie. Sam loved the gore and action of a horror fic, the blood and guts nothing to her but this time it seemed that her body couldn't handle that. Was that something that could happen? He had read that some foods could do that, but for her to become sick at the sight of something she had once loved was rather startling. "Was it the movie?" She didn't respond at first before shaking her head and then nodding. His brows raised at her response.

"It's hard to explain," she said, her voice shaky. "I think I was fine, you know, at first, but then it seemed to get too hot and the sight of the blood on screen seemed to be the final trigger." He reached out to rub her back, the female tensing. "That's not really helping right now," she said throwing him an apologetic look. "It feels good, but when the world is still spinning, well, it mixes poorly." He got it. The extra movement wasn't what her body wanted... it needed to be still and able to concentrate on keeping her stomach down. They sat there for a moment and finally Sam seemed to be okay, apologizing for ruining their date.

"No," Danny said. "Don't be sorry, neither one of us knew this would be a trigger for you." She smiled and the pair headed home, Danny taking her into his arms before heading to drop her off at her place, but once he got there plans seemed to change. Upon releasing the small raven haired woman in his arms, mindful to hold onto her waist upon putting her down since she was a little off kilter with her stomach now completely obvious, that same raven haired female pulled him down, her fingers twisting into his own raven locks. Their lips met roughly, her small body pressed up against him while she held him in place. The halfa was thrown off, his hands tightening on her small waist as she groaned against his mouth. He was waging a war inside of him, the position reversed from the first time they had kissed like this and the result of that kiss was pressed against him. He wanted to continue with what they were currently doing, even knowing how it could end, but the other half of him was telling him to stop, that she wanted to go slow with their relationship... a chance to have a relationship that would last.

He was the one that pulled back, his eyes opening as her were, the pair of them dazed with lust in their orbs. She wanted him, and he wanted her, but he knew that to make their relationship last longer than if she truly believed it was just lust, he would have to suffer the blue balls that he was going to have over this. "S-Sam, as much as I want to continue, I don't want you to regret this later." He was also sure she would have that to use against him if she ever got cold feet again and she would... he was sure of this. He knew Sam, or had before all this had happened, and he knew that when she was unsure about something, something that had been bothering her for as long as her feelings had been for him, she would question it several times before accepting it as fact. Look who had been her role models, her parents unable to really love their only child. They had tried to push her into a mold that just wasn't her and while they had had their good moments, the bad outweighed the good. She blinked at him. "We should go slow since we have the rest of our lives." She relaxed at his words, emotions flickering in her amethyst orbs telling him that he had said the right thing, that he had given her something that she needed from him.

"You're right," she said taking a step back. "I'll see you tomorrow for the move." She leaned forward real quick to lay a quick kiss on his lips before stepping back again. The halfa smiled and waved to her before heading out. The Goth sighed, both in relief and frustration. She had wanted that, the feel of him so close as he flew her home had been too much. "Damn you hormones," she muttered to herself. It seemed that a new symptom had come up and this one was going to be hard to fight since she truly wanted to jump the halfa, but knew that it was the wrong move. After all, with what she had said to Danny about rebounds, wouldn't he think that he was her rebound after Dan?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Danny had thought that at one point, the raven haired male worried that he was taking the place of his older self, but then he recalled what Jazz and Sam had both said. Dan had been the replacement for Danny so that meant he couldn't be Dan's replacement. Shaking his head as he entered the small home of his sister only to find that she was still not home. She did hang out with one of her school peers, the blond male having been in the house a few days ago as the pair talked in her room. Danny hadn't met the male, the guy only having come over like twice since the halfa had come here. He headed into the room with the newest question on his mind, well, not new but now that he had some things figured out he wondered what that other thing that Sam was doing, the thing that he had thought was a one time thing when they got here, maybe becoming a more time consuming endeavor.

He turned on the computer, turning on the song from the new singer, the one that had caught his attention when he had first heard her. There was something about her voice that just seemed to relax him, the tone of hers so soothing that he could only think of one female that could do that to him... He shot up in the chair, his eyes wide as he realized that he knew that voice singing to him! He looked at the title on the screen, the name of the artist listed as Alexandra and then he recalled that Sam's paintings at the gallery were listed under that same name. Was Sam the singer on the radio? The one that had seemed to know his feelings and worries?

He had felt that, each lyric matching his own turmoil, as he had listened to her down the road and then when he was in his sister's room that first time hearing another song by that same woman. Sam had been talking about going on tour. He had known that had Dan not warned him of the Goth's unease and he hadn't come that Sam would have disappeared, but to think that she would have been able to move around with such ease that had he not heard her song he would never had found her. She would have kept moving with his kids, her wealth not needed to fund her escape. He sighed in relief and frustration. He was relieved that that wasn't what had happened since the older halfa had had the foresight to give him a heads up when he could have easily just let her do what she had intended. With how ticked off the older male had been upon finding out that the Goth was pregnant, he would bet that Sam had divulged all the information on the way she had become that way.

His frustration was with how Fate seemed to think that she deserved to be hurt to the point that she was willing to leave everyone, including him, behind and how much they had to suffer to get to where they were today... Then again that wasn't Fate's fault was it? It was them. They had been too afraid and then he had started dating to try and force his feelings toward another female... To get Sam out of his heart. Not in the friendship part, but the part that longed for a real relationship with the one that had been his one and only for years. If only he had taken the chance to confess how he felt then they wouldn't be- well, they would be together and enjoying the pregnancy like a real couple. There would only be love and with how it had all come about there was love, but hiding it was distrust, hurt, as well as several other emotions. It was going to be hard, but he loved her and would do whatever it took to make her his for the rest of their lives.


	11. Chapter 11

The next day the raven haired ghost fighter showed up at her house, ready to load up her things only to find the pregnant Goth moving around, most of the small stuff in her home already packed. Sam had her back to him, a song playing in the background as she wiggled around while taping up a box. The blue eyes of her visitor zoning out as he watched her shuffle around. Straightening back up with a small moan, her hands coming to rest on her hips as she rubbed the sore spot that she had gotten from bending over. "You guys are heavy," she murmured as she used one hand to rub her stomach. The halfa smiled at her words, the fact that she was talking to the unborn children in her womb. "But I love you and can't wait to hold you in my arms." He couldn't wait either, to see what their children would look like, the doctor sure that they were having four children, the sexes of those four babies one girl and three boys! To think that he would be a father four times over was both exciting and scary. He could only imagine how she felt with all those babies stretching her body out, but he found that being pregnant didn't make her any less beautiful. If anything she was glowing as she continued to hum before she stopped suddenly when she saw him.

He had the grace to blush at her surprised face. "Sorry," he murmured. She didn't say anything as a smile curled her lips. "When is the truck coming?" She glanced at the clock on the far wall.

"Should be here in another couple of hours," was her simple response before she walked past him. "I have most of the little things boxed up." He raised a brow at her, a question on his lips, but before he could ask she responded with, "Couldn't sleep so I figured I would get started early, not that I had much stuff here." He had noticed that there was a lack of her own items, most of them new while there were a few articles of clothing that he recognized when the pair entered her room. The bed was already bare of sheets, the clothing in the closets already packed, with only a few things left out with some boxes laying around empty.

"Seems you have already done all the work," the halfa stated. "Where do you want me?" That was a loaded question, the Goth still with her back to him, her face turning red as her body tingled. Oh, she knew where she wanted him and while she was really yearning for the male behind her, she knew that this feeling was common in most pregnant women. Would this feeling still be around after their children were born? Would she yearn for his touch to the point that she would want to jump him? Sure, that moment that had conceived their children she had been on fire for the halfa, but since seeing him the urge to jump him had intensified to the point that she was sure she would lose her mind to the need for him. Wasn't that just lust? Could she allow them to be intimate this early without getting it so muddied in an already turbulent relationship? No, she couldn't do that and risk the confusion that would only cause more hurt.

"You could finish the kitchen or even the living room. The bathroom is already done and I only have a few things left to box in here." She moved to do just that, the raven haired male confused as to why she wouldn't look at him, the tense woman before him almost robotic in her movements. His own mind had gone in the same direction as hers when he had asked that loaded question. He wanted her, the bed before him looking inviting even without the sheets. Hell, the couch would probably work just as well, though the Goth with her rounded stomach would probably be more comfortable on the bed... or bent over it... Shaking his head he left her alone, the breath that she had been holding releasing slowly so as to not alert him of her own thoughts... those of relief that her body could relax after how it had been pulsing with that need.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It didn't take them but another hour to complete the task of cleaning up the house, the halfa insisting that she take a rest while he finished up his areas. She had protested of course, saying that she wasn't tired, but he could see the dark circles under her eyes. He could see it in her body as she moved slower and the words that she had spoken to their unborn children telling him that she was struggling with the weight of their four children in her womb. When the raven haired ghost fighter had finished packing the last box he went to check on the raven haired female, her silence mildly concerning. What he found caused a smile to twist his lips. Sam had passed out on the unmade bed, her legs hanging off the side as she lay on her back with her hair fanned out behind her. Her even breathing told him that she was out, her chest rising and falling in the rhythm of sleep.

She didn't sleep well in the daytime, her sleep interrupted by the sun and even with that very star shinning brightly in the room the Goth didn't stir. That was telling to the halfa that maybe she was having issues sleeping with her blooming form. He would need to look into getting her a special pillow. The raven haired male had been doing research and in that research had found that several women experienced a lack of sleep when pregnancy. He went to the window and shut it, allowing the small woman on the bed to sleep in peace, though he knew she might be upset when she realized she had fallen asleep. Leaving her to sleep he headed back into the other room, his blue eyes taking in the space that the Goth had been living for less than a year. He wished he had paid attention to how it had looked before, especially knowing that she had planned to stay here for longer than she had spoken of. As the TV was already packed the male sat on the couch, his phone in hand to do some more light reading on what was the best pillow to aid a pregnant woman when something on the top of a box that was still open, caught his attention. It looked like a photo album. He pulled it out and glancing around to make sure that someone wasn't going to pop out and yell at him before laying it in his lap. Opening it he found pictures of them as children, even ones of them as toddlers, the pair of them smiling at the person holding the camera.

The raven haired children were holding each other close in several of the pictures, but as Danny flipped further and saw another male in the picture with the Goth, he found his eyes narrowing. Who was this guy? Sam looked about ten years of age, the smile on her face bright as she held up by this raven haired male behind her. She was laughing in another one with the same male. The green eyes of the male at her side were shining, his smile just as bright as the girl at his side. There were a few pages of this guy and then he seemed to disappear from the book as more of him appeared and then Tucker when he joined the group. The further back he got he found some of Dan hanging out with Sam, the male looking so uncomfortable in some of the pics, though his eyes looked fondly at the raven haired female. Then there was a rather amusing picture of Dan actually mocking Sam with a pillow under his shirt, his face priceless when he realized he was being filmed.

It was strange that he found he wasn't mad or upset when looking at this picture. It didn't show a pair of lovers, but friends just hanging out... It also showed that his dark half wasn't really all that dark. He had changed and with it had seemed to gain his humanity. Sam was a miracle worker when it came to healing others, to ensuring that they were happy and where they needed to be in life, but she didn't do it for herself. She allowed herself to be hurt, caring more for the other person than her own happiness. His musings were interrupted by a knock at the door. The raven haired male moved, putting the book back where he got it before opening the door to reveal the movers. Stepping aside he gave them instructions, the Goth still passed out in the bed as everything was moved.

Once it was all in the truck with only the bed left to load the halfa carefully pulled Sam into his arm before phasing out of the building. Taking her over to the RV on the side of the road he cloned himself so that his duplicate could pull out the bed in the back of the vehicle. Laying her down he waited for the movers to load the bed before he took off, the Goth sleeping in the back of the bed as he headed back to Amity. He didn't have the address for the new place yet, but he was sure that Sam wouldn't sleep the whole thirty two hours back to their hometown.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

About five hours into their trip the raven haired female awoke, the gentle rocking of the RV alerting her to the fact that they were on the road. With a soft moan she stretched out, surprised that she had even slept thru the movers as well as Danny moving her. "You hungry or anything?" the halfa asked, looking back for a moment to see if she was up. Sam's stomach chose that moment to let out a growl, some of the small Goth's needs filled with the uninterrupted sleep. He chuckled at her before pulling over when a small diner came into view.

"Thanks," she said as they exited the video. It was rather awkward between the new couple, the pair of them still trying to get back to what they had been before the whole mess had started and they were finding that while it could be comfortable, that the tension was there. It was a sexual tension and while they both knew it was there they tried to ignore it. Sam really did want to go slow, but she was torn between how she wanted things to be. Sure, she knew that she loved Danny and wanted to be with him on the tier of romantic partner, but she didn't want him to find that once she had these babies that he didn't know what he wanted or that he didn't want this relationship. Some relationships broke over an unplanned pregnancy, the partners finding that they had little to no time for each other when a child was introduced, but they were having four children! How would their relationship take another hit if he found that he couldn't handle it and walked away. She couldn't walk away from her children and she knew that the raven haired male was a good guy, but they had never been tried like this so she didn't know what the outcome could be.

Entering the establishment, a small diner with an old time feel to it with the red leather booths and metal tables between the seating. Sam smiled as she looked around. She had never been in such a place, the Nasty Burger the closest non-wealthy place she had eaten. There wasn't more places like this in Amity since it was a small town with just enough to offer the inhabitants. She glanced at him as the halfa headed over to a booth in the far corner away from the loud patrons of the food joint. They had one draw and that was the male with her. He had made their little town famous for his appearance and the fact that they were truly the most haunted place on earth with a ghost portal on site as well as the natural portals that popped up on occasion. Moving to follow him, the raven haired male waiting until she joined him before sitting down.

A waiter came to their side, the male eying the Goth with appreciation in his blue eyes, the fact that she was pregnant not deterring his gaze. The halfa let out a soft growl, Sam raising a brow at his sudden sound of anger. "Is there anything I can get you?" the male asked her.

"Oh, I haven't even had time to look at the menu," she stated, picking one off a little stand at the table. "If you wouldn't mind giving us a moment, though I would like a glass of sweet tea." She looked to Danny for his own drink choice though the waiter, his name tag stating that his name was Jake, never took his eyes off of her.

"A Pepsi," the raven haired male growled, his eyes flashing green at Jake. The blue eyes growing wide when a bit of ice appeared on the table before him. Skittering off the male went to get the drinks, the Goth finding it hard not to laugh at his reaction to the male eyeballing her. She didn't see herself as all that good looking, but it was nice to see that even with her belly as big as a basketball that she wasn't unattractive. While Dan had helped her self esteem after what had gone down after Danny's reaction to them having sex, she still felt rather awkward with her body's changes. That was normal right? To think that you were fat even when you knew that your body was housing your children?

"Danny," she said, reaching over to touch the table in front of him, his eyes still facing the direction that Jake had gone. "Danny," she called again, his eyes flicking toward her to see that she was smiling, her smile almost as bright as it used to be. He had seen how low her wattage had been, the smiles that appeared on her face in the last few weeks weak in comparison and found his heart clenching. Did she like the attention from the waiter? Sam had never been one for male attention, her only date having been with a guy named Gregor... or was it Elliot? Giving himself a mental shake he turned to face her. "It doesn't mean anything, at least not to me, but if it bothers you..." She faded off, leaving him to grasp her unspoken words. Yeah, he was jealous, why wouldn't he be? Sam may have gone on a few dates with him, but they had never labeled their relationship. They weren't girlfriend and boyfriend...They were just two people have four children together...

"He better keep his eyes to himself," the halfa muttered darkly. Sam let out another chuckle.

"I promise I am not laughing at you," the Goth stated with another chuckle. "Well, I am, but only at the dark look on your face! Never thought I would see the day when the nicest guy around looked like he wanted to find a body to hide." Danny blinked, his own laughter joining in with hers, the pair finding the lighter side if only for a few minutes. They ordered their food, the male from before no longer their server as a female came to stand before them and while she was appreciative of the raven haired male she was more respectful as she talked to both of them about their meal choices. Once they had finished their meal the pair headed off after Sam took a quick bathroom break, her children officially big enough to punish her bladder.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It didn't take them that full thirty plus hours to get home, though with Danny on the wheel using his powers to aide in getting them there sooner, it was no wonder. They arrived at their destination just as the moon rose high in the skies, the Goth laying passed out in the back. She had protested when he had told her to go and lay down, complaining that she was a grown woman and could choose her own bedtime... only to be betrayed by her body as a yawn broke free from her lavender lips. That had been hours ago and when she failed to stir once the RV stopped in front of a rather nice looking home with a nice front yard that had been mowed recently. They had lost the moving truck hours ago, but then again they weren't going to be there until the morning regardless. Climbing into the back of the RV he moved to pull the Goth into his arms, the raven haired female stirring slightly as she curled into him with her face burrowing into his chest.

It made his skin tingle, but he ignored it as he looked down at the woman in his arms, the halfa moving to exit the vehicle thru the roof after going intangible. There was no furniture in the two story home so when he realized that moments later, the Goth still asleep in his arms, he duplicated himself so that his copy could bring the mattress out of the RV and to a room on the upper floor. After ensuring that the Goth was comfortable the halfa headed out into the night, his destination his parent's where he grabbed the comforter from his bed as well as a few pillows, returning to the sleeping woman, her body slightly curled up as if she were cold. After getting a pillow under her head the halfa got comfortable and found himself joining the woman at his side in the Land of Nod...

**Danny walked down the hall of an unfamiliar house, the place filled with light as the sun illuminated the innards of the large home. There were no sounds around him at first, the rooms on this floor empty of life. "Sam?" he called out in question. The sound of feet hitting the ground sounded from above him, the halfa raising a brow as a soft giggle hit his ears after the running sound. He continued to walk down the hall, the feeling that he wasn't really moving occurring to him when he could see a stairway in the distance that never got closer... but the sounds did as more sounds of running filled the air with the sound of giggling getting louder and louder.

"Now Dani, you know that your daddy loves you and your brothers," came the words from a familiar voice, the Goth's softly spoken words making the halfa smile for a moment, her next words killed that joy. "He loves his wife and wants to spend time with her too." Danny heard the child sniffle and growled. What the hell was going on?! Sam was his wife! He wouldn't marry anyone else!

"I don't like her," came a female's muffled voice, the sound of his daughter. She sounded rather irate for what he could only guess was a young child, not even in her double digits yet. "She makes mommy cry." Finally Danny stepped foot on the stairs, the voices growing silent as he hit the top stair.

"Sam!" he called out, feeling that she had been here, but not sure where she was now. "Dani!" he called out for his child this time, the girl appearing before him with a scowl. He blinked at the appearance of a mini-Sam, her amethyst gaze flickering to a bright green like his ghost form. Her raven hair was short, just past her shoulders and he pegged her for being at least five or six.

"Why are you here?" she asked, her eyes glittering with anger and hurt. Those same feelings had been in another pair of amethyst eyes.

"To be with my family," was his response, the girl not looking fazed at all by his words. "Where is your mother?"

"Why should I tell you?" she asked, her arms crossing as she tried to hold the angry look. He could see that she missed him, as if he really had been gone, but his children were not even born yet. "And we can hear all that goes on between you and mommy."

"Then you should know that we are working on it." She relaxed, a little, another shadow moving behind her.

"Mommy is still upset," came a boy's voice from the shadows. He stepped forward and Danny found himself looking at a mini version of himself. "She wants to believe."

"She is trying, Sam," came another boy's voice and Danny watched as another raven haired child emerged, this child with amethyst eyes like Sam.

"She's still hurt, Damien," Dani said. "She is fighting it." Another dark haired boy appeared, his eyes blue like his father's. He didn't get as close as his siblings, but the emotions in those blue eyes were so strong.

"We know that you are both trying and like mommy said, that no matter what you both love us." The other three looked shocked at his words.

"Sebastian!" Sam cried out, the Goth appearing behind them with a shocked look when she saw who they had been talking to. "Danny? What are you doing here?" The four kids looked at him, giving him the 'see' look. He approached, her eyes watching him with unease... but like his children had said there was another emotion there and for the life of him it looked like love.

"I came to be with my family, my only family." She opened her mouth to say something, but the halfa before her wasn't going to listen, his lips crashing onto hers at the same time as he pulled her roughly against him...**

Danny sat up, his blue eyes wide at the strange dream, his body reacting to that last bit of the dream. He turned to look at the woman still asleep at his side, a sigh of relief escaping him that she was still there. He knew that she had promised that she wouldn't run, but she had added a clause to that and there was no telling what could or would set her off... In a nutshell he couldn't trust her. He wanted to trust her, but she had run without a word, well without a word of truth. That dream was something else though and while he wanted to dissect it he knew that it was nothing more than his own worries... Though he wasn't worried about leaving Sam because he had been truthful when he had told her they had forever. He wanted forever and by her reaction to his words she wanted that too. It was weird though with the children having names such as those since he hadn't even thought of names for their unborn children. They only had a few more months left before they would be able to hold those children and there was just so much to be done!

Why hadn't he thought to look up the things that those children would need?! His mind was suddenly on overdrive, smoke coming from his ears, at the thought of his children and their needs. A groan alerted him to the fact that the woman next to him was stirring. He looked over at her, her gaze still in sleep even as her eyes opened and she stretched out next to him with another throaty groan when a bone popped. "You awake?" she asked, though it was obvious he was. She looked around and seemed to realize that they were in the house causing the small woman to try to sit up, a feat that seemed too much for her more bulky form. He assisted her, his hands on her shoulders to lift her into a sitting position, the Goth blushing as she scowled at his barely concealed smile.

"You think that's funny?" she asked, her brow rising as a wicked gleam appeared in her amethyst gaze. Before Danny could react the raven haired female had him down, her fingers poking his ribs, the halfa unable to fight back as he laughed, his laughter hearty. "Laugh at me, will you?" Maybe it was the fact that she had just had some of the best sleep with a dream that make her heart swell at the sight of her children... and Danny as her husband. She felt light and content, happy with the fact that she had woken to find Danny at her side. The fear that he would run from her was strong, the trust fragile, but seeing that he was still there made her question her own sour judgement. Then again, they were still just two people and when those children came into the world it would be just the two of them taking care of their babies. Would he stick around then? She pulled back from him and with an excuse of needing to use the restroom, headed for a door just a few feet from the mattress. The halfa had no words, he had felt the lightheartedness of the moment and had been enjoying the closeness that seemed to be creeping back into their relationship when suddenly she was back to pulling away.

He didn't understand, but decided to just push that to the side as he waited for her to get up only to hear the sound of the doorbell as it echoed around the empty house. Giving the door that the Goth had just disappeared into a quick glance before heading down to answer the door.

Sam waited until he left, sure that he would go and answer the door, before exiting the bathroom, her breath still heavy from her minor little anxiety attack. She needed to stop doing that! She would give him a chance, the image of her dream family giving her hope that they could really make it. It might be wishful thinking, but she wanted to try and claim that wish. Walking out into the hallway she noted over the small balcony of the hallway in connection to the front doorway, that the doorbell had been rung by the workmen with her furniture. Danny was nowhere to be seen, his voice barely audible outside the doorway as more men entered with boxes and others with furniture. It was really only a few things, like a couch, the TV as well as her bed. There were the art supplies being brought in with another worker bringing in a couple more boxes. Stepping back the Goth pulled out her phone, her voice soft as she talked with the person on the other end. A few minutes later found that same raven haired female heading down the stairs to find Danny already unloading the dishes, the halfa putting them in the dishwasher, his back to her.

She said nothing, just standing there and thinking about how natural the scene before her was. She could see the halfa around her, their house filled with little children that looked like him. The halfa turned around as he closed the door to the dishwasher, his eyes full of surprise to see her behind him, the scene a reversal from that morning when he had found her packing her home. Both of them flushed as the movers walked past with the couch, another one entering the house with more boxes. Smiling Sam walked away, heading for another room to unpack, the living room the room next to the kitchen.

A few hours later found the pair completely exhausted, well, the Goth was exhausted, her eyes drooping as she leaned back from her seat on the couch, while Danny was just worn out. He glanced over at her, his eyes taking in the tension in her body and without hesitation picked her up, the Goth squeaking as she reached out to grasp his biceps. She wanted to fight him on this, but her body was crying out for sleep, her energy depleted in such a short amount of time. She allowed him to take her upstairs thru the ceiling, the male holding her laying her on the bed before covering her up with the comforter from his bed since she wanted to wash the sheets to her bed later that day. Seemed she would be taking a forced break because of their children, so as soon as she was asleep, the halfa headed out to grab them some groceries as well as a few other things, the day still early.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The halfa returned to the house about three hours later, the RV laden down with items that seemed to weigh down the back of the large vehicle, but the raven haired male that stepped out of the driver's seat was smiling with excitement. He began to unload the groceries first, moving to get the cold stuff into the large fridge that seemed to take up the corner of the light blue kitchen, the tiles a mixture of different shades of blue mixed with white. The walls were dark blue with a white trim that only encompassed three of the floor walls. Once that was done the halfa headed back out to take four boxes upstairs to a rather large space just next to where the Goth was sleeping. He made only two more trips, one large box with two boxes on top and then several bags taken in one trip into the house before he was done.

After calling in an order from a near-by pizzeria the halfa went into the kitchen, a space in the corner the perfect space to set up the table that had four holes on one side, the other side curving inward towards those same holes. He had been surprised to find such a neat bit of furniture just for multiple babies, but hadn't even hesitated in buying it, the color a deep brown color with a white rim to the four spaces. It had been the last one on the floor of the baby store, the colors perfect for the kitchen's own coloring. Heading back upstairs he began to work on the four cribs, the coloring of them black with little green ghouls, strangely this particular style of cribs, the coloring of the piece of furniture, only found in Amity since he was the hero of the town. He smiled as he sat back an hour later with the four cribs standing before him just as the sound of wood creaking alerted him to the fact that Sam was awake. The woman in question walked up behind him, the halfa turning to greet her when he saw the look on her face. It wasn't just surprise either, the Goth was shocked, but she loved the designs of the cribs and he could see that he chose wisely.

"How did you- I mean, did you-" she didn't know what to say, her vision blurring slightly as her hormones jacked up her emotions.

"You like them?" he asked, knowing by the look in her eyes that she did, but he wanted to hear her say it. She nodded.

"I love them!" she cried out grabbing the halfa into a hug, her small form just vibrating with happiness before pulling away to look closer at the new addition to the house. She had also thought of this room as the perfect nursery since it was the biggest and would befit their four children as they aged. She didn't need much space and there was even a room for Danny to stay, not that she hadn't told him of the sleeping arrangements, though the fact that she had slept better with him near her made her want to change those arrangements. "Thank you, Danny. It's perfect for them, well, once we paint the walls to match." The room was a cream color with yellow roses and baby's breath wallpaper lining the top of the walls. He smiled and pointed over to the corner where several paint buckets sat waiting. Sam chuckled. "Guess you are just sooooo prepared for anything." The doorbell rang at that moment, the halfa smiling as he told her that he had ordered some food. The Goth was shocked, but without a word followed him down to see what was for dinner.


	12. Chapter 12

Danny stood before one of the walls, the black walls almost done while Sam stood before the opposite wall painting a portal on the wall clear of clutter. Sam had stated that she wanted that side to have the changing tables so that the cribs would be on the other wall where he was painting. They were listening to music, Why Should I Worry? playing softly in the background as they worked. Neither said a word, the atmosphere strangely awkward and yet not at the same time. It had only been a day since the halfa had bought the cribs for the house, the Goth pleasantly surprised to see the other new addition that same day, the table for the babies amazing as she had worried about working around four high chairs. They were working in harmony, no tension and yet there was a strange buzz in the air, the pair of them yearning to be closer in a more primal way and yet unable to get past their own fears and unease.

It was a strange scene and when the doorbell rang the halfa left the Goth to finish her painting, his eyes wide when his parents were the ones he opened the door to. They were loaded down with several items, his curiosity peaked on how they had known where he was until he recalled that the RV had a theft device on it to allow them to track it. "Hi, son," his father said with a quick look behind him. "Is she doing better?" The halfa nodded, worried as to how the woman upstairs would react to knowing that his parents were there and the fact that they knew, but he didn't have to worry long as the raven haired woman appeared at the top of the stairs, her eyes shuttered while a smile was pasted on her face. She didn't seem too upset, but her gaze wasn't revealing anything so he couldn't be sure.

"Hi, Mrs. and Mr. Fenton," she said while walking down the stairs, her eyes never faltering as she joined Danny at the door, her amethyst gaze flickering to him before returning back to them. "I don't think I have to guess how you came to find us here since I know that there is a tracking device on the RV," she said as she looked over their shoulder to the very vehicle. "Not that I'm upset or anything, but I was kind of hoping for a little bit of time before this." She stepped aside, moving the halfa back from the door to allow his parents to enter with their packages, Maddie claiming they had more in the speeder parked next to the RV. After assisting them in getting the rest of the presents from the large trunk of the ghost fighters' vehicle the four of them sat down in the living room, Danny and Sam with Maddie on the couch while Jack sat on a lone chair to the side. Before them was a large fireplace, the dark brick surrounding it rather beautiful against the deep blue coloring of the room.

"Sorry to barge in on you like this," the red headed stated looking rather concerned when she noted that her son was looking rather uneasy while the Goth at his side looked neutral. This was a sign that everything was still on the fence, that neither had come to terms with what was happening, their feelings still on the rocks. "But we were a little... rocked over what happened, with the pregnancy and then well, with all the tip toeing." She looked at Danny first. "We have been talking after the last talk with you and feel that maybe there needs to be an intervention with the fact that it isn't just the two of you involved in this. There are four unborn babies that are about to be brought into this world." Sam was shocked. She knew that what the older woman was saying was true, but she had never known the Fentons to step in unless they were really concerned and when it came to their own children they usually allowed them to run free with little interference so this had to be bothering them. "As not only the parents to the father of said children and soon to be grandparents we wanted to make sure that we put our two cents in." She now looked to Sam, her husband nodding at his wife's assessment.

"We want to start with the fact that while you two have been so oblivious to each other's feelings that everyone and I mean everyone has been waiting for the pair of you to make a move." He looked at his son. "Hell, son, I have been asking for years and there was a few times that you even admitted that there was something there, but that you were unsure. How much time has to pass before you realize that you and Sam are perfect for each other?" He looked to Sam now, his hand reaching into his pocket to pull out something that neither could see, but his wife seemed to know what it was as she smiled sadly. "And you, young lady are not any better. You and Danny made a decision and that decision is about to bring about life, four lives that you both have to help learn the right from the wrong, to use those powers of deduction on what they want to be and what they want to do. Neither one of you are really thinking of them and what would be best for them."

"While I am overjoyed to find out that I am about to be a grandmother, and mind you these are my first grandbabies, I am so disappointed in the pair of you for different things." She looked at Sam, the Goth still silent, her eyes leaking out her emotions even as she kept a straight face. "You and Danny have been thru so much and while I applaud you keeping your mouth shut when he was dating that bimbo of a female, I would have rather you had told him your feelings once the opportunity presented itself and yes," she said cutting off what Sam wanted to say, the raven haired female's mouth open to rebut the words coming from the mother of her friend. "He messed up, but you know Danny. He is like his father in so many ways that I would swear they were one and the same, but like his father he does know the difference between doing the right thing and making the right move. He loves you and that is so plain to see." She turned to her son now. "And you, Danny, you messed up and to top it off you went back to Paulina. You made a choice to take back the one that you knew deep in your heart was wrong and to do that after you slept with Sam was wrong. You should have taken a moment, stepped back and looked at what you had and what you really wanted. Both of you ignored your heart and what has it left you with?" Jack took this moment to stand, his hulking figure blocking some of the light from the afternoon sun gleaming in from the window next to the fireplace. "It left you with broken hearts and distrust."

"This is how much we knew that you belonged together," the raven haired ghost fighter said as he handed Danny the ring, the class ring a bright green with a ghost etched into it. It was nothing special, but when the halfa turned it slightly Sam noticed something, her small fingers reaching out to take it as her own eyes widened when she saw the inscription. Her emotions forced tears from her eyes, the one word... the three letters of her name gleaming back at her. Her gaze open she looked up at the pair with confusion and astonishment, Maddie now standing with her husband as they looked down at the pair of soon to be parents. "We knew for so long and yet we didn't want to push you since you were both so young and still figuring things out, but now that you are about to be parents you need to think about those babies and what you want them to grow up seeing."

"Do you want them to see their parents, the obvious love between them even as they stay on different sides of a canyon or do you want them to see two people so in love that they can't help but cuddle and show that love as they raise them together?" She smiled at them now, the sadness still there but in that sadness was hope. Danny turned to Sam, his eyes open with the love that he felt for the woman next to him. "If you can't open your hearts to that love then why would you show that fear to your children?"

"What we are saying, Sam," Jack said looking to the Goth and then to his son, "Danny. If you can't work thru what happened and the feelings involved then maybe it's best that you separate before you bring those innocent babies into the world. It will hurt, but do they deserve to be in the middle of that?" It was true. They only had a few months before their children would be there and what would they do then? Would they be able to be around each other with all that unresolved emotion making them bitter and unhappy? Did their children deserve to be in the middle of that bitterness and unhappiness that they had been dealing with? Sure, they were doing a bit better but how long would that last? The tension was still there and while it was a different tension they still were walking on eggshells with each other, though he was trying to show that he could do it, that he could be around her without letting the lust rule him... but was it really just lust? To want to be complete with the one that made you happy and feel so whole... was that really just lust? He didn't think so. He loved Sam and she loved him even if she was fighting it.

"We are heading out, but we hope that you can work it out because like we said, we know that you are soulmates and deserve to be together, but..." she faded off letting them know that it was up to them. Bidding them farewell they couple they left them alone, the Goth the first one to speak.

"I never really thought of that," she said, musing about what his parents had just laid out before them. Sure, she had thought of the fact that their kids needed both of them but had never thought of the lasting impression they as parents would leave on their children. She had thought they could co-parent and everything would be okay with just that... not that their own emotions could be felt by those children and that they would emulate that. "I mean, it makes sense since the babies did that little scary thing recently, but not that it would be... you know, something that would have a lasting impression, but then again we were both raised in two different households." She sighed. "I guess I let my own parent's marriage scare me. I was afraid that our relationship would be the same way if I allowed us to be together, but Danny you have to understand that my parents were forced together because my mother got pregnant before they were married." Damn! Well, that explained why she had reacted so strongly against them. Add that to the fact that he had indeed gone back to Paulina after they had slept together. It was all starting to add up.

"Sam, I made a mistake, many of them, but how was I supposed to know that? I shouldn't have reacted to realizing what I did, but I was afraid that I had burned a bridge that I couldn't take back even after you allowed me t-" She leaned forward and kissed him, her lips silencing his but before he could react she pulled back.

"Danny, I know that you didn't know that, but I was so confused. You had said all those things, but I was just enjoying what we were doing that I was willing to forgo the pain and then when it happened, the look in your eyes and your words..." she faded off looking so lost. "I just reacted." She looked ashamed at that moment, as if she were holding something back. "I did lie about having planned to be away for just the summer. It was a two year venture and then after what happened, well, I planned to stay away for longer."

"Were you going to tell me when you found out you were having my babies?" She wasn't surprised by his question, her cheeks turning red, the shame even stronger in her eyes and yet there was another emotion.

"Honestly I did think about keeping it to myself, but I knew that I would never be able to keep that from you and then Dan said something that made me worried. I didn't know what I would do with a child that had your powers." He was surprised at her admission. "I knew before that, but it had never even entered my mind that our child would have your powers and then there it was... I knew I needed to contact you before I gave birth. While I was going to call you, well, I can see that Dan was worried enough or maybe he was angry, to tell you about it, but I was going to tell you when I got the guts to talk to you." He believed her especially since he had seen how she here without her knowledge. She had been broken and for Sam, that was a hard task to do to her. Her parents hadn't been able to break her and to know that he had done such a thing was telling in more ways than one. The Goth before him had stood by him, helping him whenever he needed it, but he hadn't even seen that when he had been after Paulina, never even stopping to thank her for all that she had done and then on top of that failing to keep their friendship strong while dating the woman who had really tormented the Goth. He had seen it, now that he had a chance to step back and look and he was ashamed of himself.

"I failed to ever tell you how much you meant to me, and Dan, though my enemy at one point, stepped in when it should have been me." She could feel those damned hormones working overtime as the tears blurred her vision. "I even let my," he blushed. "The head in my pants lead me when I should have allowed my heart more say in who I was with. It was never right, you know... I never really loved Paulina and that was a big misstep." He grabbed her hands. "I know that we said we would take it slow and I am still willing to do that, but Sam I knew that it was more than a crush that moment that we took that next step. It never felt that way with Paulina, not just the intimacy, but the whole relationship was about her wants and never about us as a couple. You never thought about yourself when we fought ghosts and when we were together. You were all about me and nothing else." She smiled at him, her eyes glowing as her eyes overflowed, the tears shimmering in her amethyst orbs before spilling over. "I never meant to hurt you, but I felt that I had taken advantage of you."

"I thought that you, well, you know what I thought and then you said those hurtful words and I just couldn't get past that. I really want to try, but I need you to understand where I am at this point. I am scared and I don't want to lose you because of that, but I also don't want to get hurt." He nodded, leaning forward to place a chaste kiss on her lavender lips.

"We can keep going slow," he said. "I want to take it slow, but Sam, I do want to be more than just two people about to be parents. I want to marry you and while it might take us some time to get there I am willing to be patient." She leaned forward now, her lips touching his softly before applying more pressure, the pair sitting in their semi-lit home on a couch, his hands releasing hers to pull her close as he kissed her with all the pent up passion while trying to keep it light. It was a hard task to sit there and only kiss, no tongue and no intimate touches, but he did and then pulled back, their foreheads touching as they smiled at each other, their breathing slightly harsh as they sucked in breaths.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next few weeks were spent on dates, movies and dinners at night while during the day the pair took the time to complete their home, the babies growing more everyday and with every day that passed the bulge on the Goth grew to the point that the pair was slightly concerned that she would topple over, but Danny didn't see her growing bigger as a bad thing. No, he saw her glowing, her eyes full of love and less of fear as they took their time, day by day. The house was coming together beautifully, the nursery finished within a week while the rest of the house was painted and wallpapered by the halfa while Sam was forced to sit and watch. She was a little upset by that, but she was still happy to see how the little home transformed into a family home. The room that she had designated as his was turned into a guest room, the halfa allowed to sleep in her room as the time drew closer and closer before they would really become parents. Her room was a good combination of them. The walls were black with a white trim while the bed was her old bedspread, the red covers with spiderwebs accenting the room beautifully. The main room with the fireplace was left alone, the blue a dark enough tone that it worked with the dark brick of the fireplace that neither wanted to tamper with it.

The halls were painted a light green that stood out with the dark wood of the original floors. The kitchen was left alone as well, the tones why the halfa had bought the little table for the babies. Danny had gone out and had gotten more for the backyard, setting up a playground for the children for when they got older, a swing set, sandbox and a few other items to make the area children friendly. Sam went with him to get more toys and clothing for the four babies, the Goth opting to pick neutral colors for all of them with no pinks for their unborn daughter. Danny had to laugh at her, knowing that she wasn't going to force their daughter to be a girly girl. After all that the pair sat in the living room, the curtains drawn as they spent some time watching a show that the halfa wasn't even paying attention to as he cuddled the raven haired woman, his hand resting on her stomach while the other one was around her shoulder.

Sam was into the show, a movie about a couple that had moved out into the middle of nowhere, their house haunted by a several ghosts that seemed to trying to help the couple protect the unborn child in the woman's womb. Sam's eyes were sliding closed though, her body having very little in the way of energy these days as one month was left before she would give birth. He rubbed her stomach, a soothing motion that seemed to aid both mother and children into sleep as the babies had stopped moving under his ministrations just hours before while Sam tried to fight the feeling. She had told the halfa of how she had wanted to see this movie in the theaters just months ago, but with all that had been going on had been unable to do it. Unfortunately her body was winning the fight as she became heavy, her head resting on his shoulder as her body sagged. He couldn't help the feelings that swelled in his heart as he looked down at her, her cheeks flushed from the warmth of sitting with him as her breathing evened out. She looked so content, so happy to be there and with all that had gone down for the last several months it was heartening to see her so comfortable and happy.

He wished that it hadn't all happened the way it had, but they were together and with each day their happiness seemed to bloom as they reacquainted themselves with each other. The friendship was definitely back on track and stronger than ever while their romantic relationship was almost at a point where he felt he could could consider them boyfriend and girlfriend, but not where he wanted it so he could propose to her. While she was happier the Goth was still keeping him on his toes with only kisses allowed and those kisses were chaste at best. He wanted more from her, his hand stopping its movement as he watched her sleep, the movie still playing the background.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning the Goth awoke to a twinge of pain in her stomach, the skitter a minor ache that she thought at that moment was nothing more than bad sleep posture. The male behind her, his warmth curled around her body and his hand still on her rounded stomach, had bought her a body pillow just for pregnant women so she wasn't uncomfortable anymore... though she felt that having him laying behind her was the real reason she slept so well. Danny had been patient with her, allowing her to set the pace, but even she was feeling like they had stalled with their relationship. She figured the title of boyfriend fit the male at her side, but she wanted him to be more and while it was more than just wanting to be married to the raven haired ghost fighter she also wanted a more intimate relationship with him, her body recalling how that one moment in time had felt, but how would she broach that subject? How awkward would it be to just walk up to him and tell him that she wanted to make love with him? Moving to stretch she felt another twinge, confirming that she had indeed slept wrong. Detangling the male behind her from her the Goth headed for the shower, knowing that a good steam would help relieve those aches.

While she was in the shower, the door opened slightly so that the halfa would know where she was she failed to notice the gush of water, though she had felt the slight trickle of water it was hard to tell what was water from the showerhead and what could possibly be just pee. It was embarrassing, but with the weight of all her children on her bladder the Goth had found herself running to the bathroom more frequently, so again she dismissed it. It wasn't until a rather strong arch of pain twisted thru her body, a chill accompanying it. The raven haired woman nearly fell into the tub as she clung to the wall on one side and the glass door of the bath with the other as her body shuddered. 'What?' she asked herself. Was she in labor? Another contraction ripped thru her, answering her question, but with how much pain she was in in that split second of time the Goth found that she could do nothing but hold on. She needed to get out and yet she couldn't seem to make her legs move as they shook. She was at least a few weeks early, not too bad considering that she was having four babies, but this wasn't how she wanted it to happen. 'Danny!' She felt the fear grip her heart, her eyes welling with tears and then it was as if the heavens opened up as the door on the other side of the glass opened up, Danny calling out for her.

"Sam, are you okay?" She wondered at how he knew she needed him, but she could also hear the worry in his tone. He must have heard her hit the glass or something.

"D-Da-anny," she managed as another contraction hit her, her words slurring slightly at the pain. The halfa threw open the glass and upon seeing the pain in her amethyst orbs, the fear just as strong he wasted no time in shutting off the water and wrapping her up in his large black robe before rushing out of the house via the ceiling. Sam clung to him, little whimpers escaping as she cried openly. She didn't care if she was crying though, a fear that something was wrong with her babies, their bodies chilling her stomach like they had all that time ago.

"It's okay," he said, his voice slightly breathless with his own worry though he tried to sound unafraid. He too was worried as she was, but he was a different fear. His was about the fact that he too could feel the chill coming off of her while hers was about the fact that her water had broke earlier than it should. It was something called pre-labor rupture of membranes. She couldn't recall if she had started contracting before or after the breaking of her water. She hadn't even realized that her water had broken though, thinking it nothing but an accident with her squished bladder. "I promise that everything will be okay." She nodded, trying to be brave, but failing as her fears swirled around her with the question of which had come first. His words seemed to be working for the babies though, as if they could understand them when his voice was cracking slightly. Sam tensed in his arms as another contraction hit, this one coming quicker than the last one and all the more powerful at that.

"P-Please hur-ry," she whispered as she tightened her grip on his arms, her body beginning to shake slightly. A new worry entered both of their minds as she shook, but the female in his arms knew that while it could be what she feared, preeclampsia a possible reason for her shaking, she didn't feel like she wasn't alert, her eyes closing tightly as another contraction came over her body. I could be because of the chill of her babies in her womb, but until they got to the hospital there was no telling. It was at that moment that the large structure appeared below them, the halfa floating quickly down to enter the space, the pair of them falling thru several rooms as patients and doctors with no of them seeing them. When they became tangible and visible again they managed to scare the nurse behind the counter and several people in the waiting room behind them. The ER wasn't very busy, the small amount people there to witness their hero and his pregnant girlfriend relaxing as they realized that it was just Danny.

"Oh," the brunette said behind the counter as she too relaxed, but upon seeing the female in his arms wince again, another whimper escaping her lavender tinted lips the woman stood up, her phone in hand. "I need a doctor to the front ASAP!" Several people appeared just as Danny sat Sam down in a wheelchair, the Goth reaching out to grasp his hand, her fingers biting into his own hand.

"Don't leave," she pleaded. The halfa leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips, his promise to not go anywhere that she wasn't. The pair were lead off into a room several yards away, the space open and large with only one bed on the left wall of the room. The Goth was helped into the bed while another nurse handed the raven haired female a blanket as she lay down, her body still shaking. Danny sat down beside her as the nurses began to hook her up, their own worry when they touched her belly evident since the chill, while not as strong, was still there. None of them had ever, well no one had ever, delivered a baby whose father was a half ghost. Sam never released his hand, his own hand holding tightly to her own as another contraction ripped thru her. She was ready to deliver her children and it seemed that those same babies were just as ready, the nurse lifting up the blankets to find herself looking at the raven haired head trying to come out.

"Get the doctor now!" the nurse hissed to another one that seemed to be in shock at what she had seen over her shoulder. Sam looked to Danny in concern. Was there something wrong? The halfa didn't know, his own heart beating so fast that he was surprised he hadn't killed over, the pair waiting for this doctor as Sam felt the sudden urge to push, her body bearing down and the nurse between her legs letting out a sound of surprise just as cries filled the room.


	13. Chapter 13

Sam and Danny were relieved when the doctor appeared, the older male seeming unaffected with the same worry as the others in the room as he sat before the end where the baby was trying to come out, assuring the parents that there was nothing to be worried about as he began to order the nurses around him to tasks as he reached out, instructing the Goth to push. Sam did as instructed, a cry coming from the baby that entered the world, the doctor at that end smiling as he stated, "You are the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl." At the word of the doctor a nurse came over and taking the small female headed off to clean the baby while the aged doctor instructed Sam to take a few deep breaths. "When you feel the need to push, Miss Manson then do it." A nurse on the other side seemed unsure about this as she wailed about the machines that were there to instruct in such things, the older male brushing them off. "Women were giving birth before these machines were even thought of!"

Danny turned to Sam and to the surprise of the woman on the bed said, "Our daughter, Danielle." She blinked but before she could say another word her body signaled that it was time to push, the raven haired female complying though she wanted to know why he had chosen that name. Another few pushes and the woman next to him gave birth, the doctor holding their second child, a boy. Like his sister he had raven hair, his eyes closed as he yelled about how bright it was. "Samuel." Sam didn't say a word, though it was another question that she stored for later, her mind too preoccupied with the need to bring another child into the world, but this time before Danny could say a word the first nurse, the one with their daughter freaked out, a scream echoing around them, though the doctor seemed less than concerned with her reaction, his curt words for her to relax making the pair relax. If it was serious then the doctor before them would have turned from his task of helping bring another son into the world, his cries joining in with his brother who was still making a fuss. Their daughter was quiet, a disconcerting thing for the pair of ghost fighters but Sam forced her attention back to the task at hand as the doctor passed off their third child, Damien.

As their last child came forth, the Goth took a deep breath, her eyes heavy as she lay back. Danny was quick to grab a wet rag offered to him by another nurse, her demeanor similar to the doctor as she walked off to assist in cleaning the last child, another boy whose name was to be Sebastian. As he cleaned her face, the sweat making her hair stick to her skin, they waited for their children to be readied to meet them, the nurses taking measurements and other observations, though the nurse that had screamed in terror moments ago was gone, another nurse taking her place. The doctor came to stand beside the bed, his words of congratulations lost to the pair as they just nodded. Sam opened her eyes just as the nurse handed her Danielle, the raven haired child opening her eyes to her parents, their smiles of awe lost on the small child as she whimpered slightly for food.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

An hour later, after all four were fed, the babies put to rest in little cribs the left of Sam, the woman in question resting as well while Danny just stood there. He looked down at his children, their little chests rising and falling with each breath, and wondered how he had gotten so lucky. He might still be working on his relationship with their mother, but the halfa silently promised his children that nothing would rip the family in two. He loved their mother and would never hurt her. No, he would make her his wife, the pair of them living happily ever after.

A few days later found the pair back home, the Goth changing a diaper as Danny dressed their son, Sam, in a pair of blue jean overalls with a red shirt, his blue eyes wide as he looked up at his father. There was a look in those eyes, one that spoke volumes. He seemed to be studying the male clipping the final button into place before putting some white socks onto his feet. Sam was speaking softly to Damien, his own amethyst eyes watching his mother with open adoration. It was like the dream, as if he were some stranger to his own children. While they were only a few days old the halfa felt that they knew more than an infant should. "My little demon," Sam cooed. "You are going to be such a wildfire." It was true. Even only a few days old the little boy was rather fussy, always screaming when he knew his father was resting after a long fight or when Sam was taking a moment to feed one of his siblings, though he wasn't like that all the time. He could be a sweetheart when he wanted, cooing up at his mother as she finished strapping the diaper in place.

"Sam is dressed," the halfa stated before placing his son back into a crib for the moment before taking Damien from him, the small boy pouting for a moment before smirking. He was so unpredictable unlike his brother, Sam. Sam was the angel in the group, his smiles never ending like his father had been as a child. Dani was stern, her look one of someone much older as she watched her father and even her mother failed to get too many smiles from the small girl.

"Danny," the Goth said as she pulled Dani into her arms before placing her on the changing table. "What made you choose to call them by those names?" The halfa didn't know how to answer that, though he knew she would believe him, he was uncertain how she would feel about his dream. "I mean, seriously, those names were the ones that I had thought of just a few months ago when we found out the genders."

"It came to me in a dream..." he stated, fading off as he pulled the matching outfit, the shirt on this one a blue one with stripes of white on the hem of the sleeves. "I saw them, our children older and they told me their names." She raised a brow, though he was right that she did believe him. She believed that he had dreamed their names, but she felt that there was more to this and the halfa knew that she was waiting for the other half. "They were mad at me, ironically like they appear to be now." She let out a surprised giggle.

"Danny, they are babies," she pointed out. "How can you tell that it's not gas or something?" He pointed to Damien, the boy indeed looking at his father in a less than friendly manner, though it wasn't a real hateful look, since the boy was mainly just scowling, his brows unable to commit to the look. She looked down at their son and was shocked to see that indeed the small boy wasn't looking all that happy to be in his father's company. "Hmm, that is rather odd. Didn't know infants could make that face."

"They think that I am going to leave you," he stated before finishing up dressing the small boy. "None of them had any faith in me." Sam felt her heart clench. That was her fault wasn't it? She hadn't even given him a chance until the last part of her pregnancy and while she found that she had more faith in him than she had before the birth of their children, she had already tainted her children's feelings for their father. She leaned over to look her son in his amethyst orbs.

"Now looky here," she said, reaching out to stroke the soft hair on the infant's head. "Your father and I both made mistakes. You be nice." She came off stern, though a small chuckle managed to escape her lavender lips. Turning back the pair finished dressing their children before starting their day.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Everything went smoothly for the pair, the babies like most with their night feedings, but between the pair they established a schedule, a routine that got the babies on track before their sixth month. While no one but them had seen their children yet, the pair had wanted to get them situated before allowing outside sources to stimulate them. They were up at about six every morning and while some mornings it was just Sam getting them ready for the day, their father either out fighting a ghosts or just coming in from a long night, the couple had found their life turning out rather well, their relationship growing with each day that they spent together. While there was little time for romance the halfa found a few days a week when the children were asleep to woo his girlfriend. After a busy morning of keeping the babies entertained, the four babies took a noon nap, usually worn out enough to sleep for a few hours. The rest of the day was just as busy, though with the pair of them it was easy to multitask, each of them taking to feeding them or changing their diapers and now that they were six months along the couple had decided to have a small party for them.

"Your parents are going to be here first," Sam stated as she finished preparing a small salad, the halfa coming into the room with Sebastian in his arms, the boy the first one to warm up to him, only taking a few weeks to cling to his father. His other sons had been next, Dani, their only daughter coming in last with her begrudging way of accepting something. The small boy in his arms cooed as he reached out to pull on his father's lime green shirt, the buttons a shimmery black that seemed to grab the blue eyed gaze of their son.

"What about your parents?" he asked, though he was sure he knew the answer to that. Either they were not happy and would have nothing to do with their grandchildren or Sam had yet to tell them. She muttered something and while the halfa had felt surprise at her words, he asked her to repeat herself.

"They will be here," she stated, placing the bowl of greens to the side and grabbing a fork as well as another plate, the sandwich on there a large one for the halfa to eat before their parents would come over. "Seems that while they were surprised to find out that they were grandparents they were not surprised with who their father was." She turned to him, a strange smile on her lips. "They didn't even ask. They were like, so you finally had a child with him." He could see that it hurt with how her parents felt about him, but the fact that they wanted to be a part of their grandchildren's lives made the Goth happy. "I-I don't even have words." He reached over, pulling the raven haired female into his body before bestowing a soft kiss on her forehead.

"I have to agree that I am speechless, but at least they want to be grandparents," was his response, the amethyst eyes that lifted to look up at him filled with such strong emotions that the halfa found his lips meeting hers as their child giggled in his arms. The pair were so happy, their children seeming to pick up on it and with that the couple had found that happiness that had been waiting for them, though it wasn't complete. The halfa had the last key to that in his pocket, a small box sitting hidden in his dresser. He had something planned for her, a night that he hoped she would remember forever, his parents waiting for the chance to take their first grandbabies for a few hours to allow the raven haired male a chance to spend time with his love. She ended the kiss, a smile on her lips that was full of joy.

"Well, be prepared because you know how they are going to be," she said pulling back from him to head for the table to place the dishes. The pair finished eating, the other three children alerting them with a joined cry that they were awake, Sebastian talking in his baby talk as Danny headed for the nursery while Sam cleaned off the dishes before placing them in the dishwasher and joining him. After a bit of diaper changing as well as another outfit change the pair headed downstairs where four little bouncers sat waiting for the youngsters, the doorbell ringing just as they got the last child locked in and in motion. As the music played, the sound of the four babies laughing and cooing, Danny answered the door, coming face to face with the Mansons, the pair seeming to be a little uncomfortable as they greeted the father of their grandbabies.

"Hello, Daniel," Pamela said as she awkwardly hugged him before moving into the house. Jeremy was a little better, his greeting more natural as he asked to meet the newest members to his bloodline. A few minutes later, Sam handing her mother Sam, the nicest of the babies while her father crouched down to see Damien, the little boy giving him a once over before deciding that he wasn't that bad, smiling up at the blond male while still observing him. Danny was in the kitchen when his parents arrived, the pair of ghost fighters surprised to see the two wealthy parents of Sam in the home interacting with the four children, the Goth standing next to her father as Damien reached out to grasp at his grandfather's class ring, his mouth moving as he slapped at it.

"Hello son," Jack bellowed as he pulled his father into a hug, also moving to join the other grandparents, taking Dani into his arms, her eyes wide at this hulking male holding her. She seemed to be so surprised that when he held her over his head with a smile that she actually smiled herself, letting out a little giggle to the surprise of her parents. Maddie gave her son a hug before heading over with him to the last child, Sebastian reaching out for his father. When everyone had had a chance to hold each of the children, Dani refusing to release her grandfather to allow anyone else to hold her the adults took seats, conversation flowing smoothly before Jack broached the question with the other pair of grandparents about taking the babies for a few hours. "What do you say we spend a few hours at the park?" he asked Jeremy. The blond looked a little unsure, though he did nod when the hulking male nudged him with a laugh, Dani laughing with him.

"I guess we could catch up with these little guys," Pamela said, Damien looking over her shoulder at his mother, the look on his face priceless. Sam seemed to be the only one left, her own worries about the children forgotten when the halfa at her side grasped her hand, stating that it would be okay for their parents to get to know their grandchildren. When all was said and done the pair were left alone, the raven haired woman raising a brow when her boyfriend asked her if she wanted to go out for a little walk of their own.

"What do you have up your sleeve, Phantom?" she asked, a smirk lifting her lips. He shook his head, promising that he just wanted to spend some alone time with her, that they needed to spend some time outside of the house before they became hermits. Though she didn't believe him she nodded before asking, "What's the plan for the evening?" He laughed.

"I was thinking about a little trip to someplace special." Before the Goth could ask more questions the halfa pulled her into his arms before taking flight, the couple going intangible before exiting the house. The raven haired woman in his arms looked around them, taking in the sights even as the sun hid behind some clouds. It wasn't that late, the cloudy skies telling of a storm on the horizon even as the sun tried to peek out from behind the fluffy things. It didn't take her long to realize where they were going, the hill in the distance holding one lone tree, the leaves full and green even with Fall right around the corner. They touched down, the raven haired male still holding onto her waist as they walked over to the tree, the leaves hiding them from the rays as the sun burst thru for a moment, the warmth of the day dying as a whoosh of wind lightly pulled at her long hair. He stood beside her, looking down at her as she looked out at the view of the town, the town small from this view when it felt large when you were smack dab in the middle of it.

"It is very beautiful up here," she murmured. He silently agreed, though he was looking at a different view than she was. The woman at his side wore a pair of tight blue jeans, the pair of pants accenting her slim form, the baby weight just melting off of her a few weeks after the birth of their children. The sweater she wore was a deep green, the color making her skin look even more pale but all he could see was his beautiful Gothic girlfriend, her amethyst eyes shimmering with wonder before she turned to him. "Danny?" she asked, her brow rising again at his piercing stare. He smiled at her.

"Sam, I know that it wasn't all sunshine and roses for us, and while I regret all that happened I would never change the outcome of it all. We have four beautiful children and our relationship is practically perfect." She said nothing, though his last words made her heart tighten. Practically? What did he mean by that? He could see that uncertainty, that fear in her eyes, but he pulled her closer, his lips falling on hers for a moment, the peck meant to reassure her. "There is just one thing that would make it perfect." Her eye grew wide, tears instantly springing to her eyes. While she would have blamed this on her hormones before she couldn't blame it on them this time as the halfa before her fell to one knee, his hand pulling out a small black box, the velvet texture of it apparent as the fading sun hit it before disappearing behind the clouds again.

"Samantha Athena Manson, will you make my life complete? I want to live my life with you, waking up to your beautiful face every morning, feeding our babies, changing diapers and chasing them as they learn to run. I want to be there to make you smile, to wipe your tears and to love you every day that we have together. Will you make our family complete and full by being my wife?" The raven haired woman before him nodded, her throat clogged with emotion, that same emotion leaking from her amethyst eyes. He opened the box, the small stone the perfect choice, the stone a bright blue that matched his eyes with two more on the side that matched her own amethyst orbs. Slipping it on her finger he pulled her toward him, the pair falling back with the Goth falling onto him as they kissed, their lips meeting with the first crash of thunder.

The couple paid it no heed, as the passion of the moment blocked everything else out, that is until the rain burst from the now dark clouds above them, the halfa holding her tightly to him before taking to the skies. "I could never escape your love," she whispered, bestowing another kiss on his now wet lips, the pair getting soaked quickly before they made it to their house.

"I never want to escape your love," was his response as he pulled her into the house, the lights flickering with the next flash of lightning as the skies shook with thunder. As they kissed one more time, the door burst open to their astonishment, their parents loaded down with their kids entering their house. Laughter was all that was heard as they looked at their soaked relations. No, there was no escaping the love with all there was to love about their life.


End file.
